W.I.N. Wednesday: Be cautious judging the quality of the decisions by the outcome.

In today’s polarized world I see a lot of people judging the quality of decisions people made simply by the outcome. We all need to be cautious about judging the quality of the decisions by the outcome. Sometimes good decisions lead to bad outcomes and sometimes, bad decisions result in good outcomes. There are a lot of factors that influence outcomes, which are outside the control of the decision maker. 

Looking at decisions through the lens of Hindsight Bias is easy. You know the outcome so if it is a positive outcome you assume the decisions were good and move on. If the outcome is bad you assume the decisions were bad, attack the people who made those decisions and demand that they admit they screwed up. 

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, chaotic and ambiguous world very often people have to make decisions with limited information, in tight time windows. They usually make the best decisions they can, with the information they have, knowing it will be second guessed if the outcome if less than ideal. 

Even when people have time to make decisions they are often presented with large volumes of data, and sometimes there is conflicting data. The “experts” often cannot agree on the best course of action and as a result they offer conflicting opinions and advice. At some point someone has to make a decision based on the best information they have at the time and sometimes they have to choose between two less desirable options. 

If you are in a position to do so, conduct After Action Reviews on a regular basis to gain insight into the decision making process that led to the outcome, good or bad. These are not meant to find fault or lay blame, they are meant to create learning opportunities so everyone can grow and improve their decision-making skills. 

If you are not in a position to do this then take a breath, take a step back and assume good intent until you get the facts to determine otherwise. After all, that is what you would want from others. 

What’s Important Now? Be cautious of judging the quality of decisions based solely on the outcome. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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