Making Right Decisions or Making Decisions Right
“To make a good decision, you need to think about it, the contours, and the consequences.” - Stacey Abrams
Late Friday afternoon and the rush hour commuters were adding to the throng of people arriving and moving around the capital. My wife and I were amongst them and needed to make our way across the city to our hotel. We weren’t familiar with it, but the London Underground seemed our best option. Identifying the line, we then jostled our way and emerged onto the platform to find the Tube already there, doors wide open and packed. “Quick!” my wife cried as she rushed in. I instinctively followed, aiming to claim what little space was available. Unfortunately, as I jumped aboard the doors began to shut. Clamping onto the pack on my back. Leaving me partially suspended in air and not completely inside the carriage. The momentary look of panic on my face induced fits of laughter from my wife. Whilst a glance at the other occupants’ expressions showed either pity or mild annoyance as I became the source of their inconvenience. Fortunately, there was no need to panic as the doors released me from their grasp, if not the embarrassment, and the journey continued as my wife failed to suppress her giggles.
A year later, going to attending the same event. We found ourselves in a similar situation. Only this time we had the confidence of experience on our side. We arrived earlier to give us more time. Again, as we approached the tube was at the platform. Again, my wife cried “quickly!” and jumped onboard. This time I hesitated to follow, this time the doors closed with me stood on the platform looking confounded as the laughing face of my wife disappeared down the Bakerloo Line. A few minutes later, still laughing, I joined her at the next stop as we had agreed to do in the unlikely chance of something happening again!
These are nothing more than mildly amusing stories that get brought up, all too often, at family gatherings. Generally, as proof of my bungling abilities. They are harmless, everyday situations that we’ve all found ourselves in at some point, I am surely not alone in my ability to appear stupid, right….?
As an anecdote, both situations serve as an example of potential outcomes should we fail to think, decide, and act appropriately to the circumstances in which we find ourselves. In a more serious situation the outcomes could, very likely, be more than personal embarrassment. The ability to think, to act decisively, and accurately is a skill that is closely linked to our associated experiences. These form our instinctive reaction. Our previous experiences can therefore make our reactions wrong. Therefore, reflecting and identifying learning points are key to improvement. Developing the ability to have a measured response to any situation. So where did I go wrong on the Underground?
In the first instance I simply didn’t think, I reacted to what the person before me did and expected the same result. What I’d failed to consider was how the situation had changed. I had less time, the space available to me was reduced, I was carrying more baggage. The situation had change significantly yet I expected the same result. I decided to act without consideration. By delaying I risked making myself look foolish to everyone else. However, all I achieved was removing any doubt from their minds that I was foolish. I had now inconvenienced them, and their opinion was formed.
We often feel that we need to act, say something, have an opinion. If we don’t fully understand something or a situation there is no harm in remaining quiet, to continue to assess what is happening and make an informed decision at the right time.
Planning for the last event won’t make you resilient for future events. Associated experiences do allow us to accurately plan for certain activities. How long a journey will take, equipment required for a task etc. It aids decision making but won’t be the perfect solution for all eventualities. None of us know what the future may bring. When making contingencies plans, we should think about what might happen not simply what happened last time and how to improve. Even then we won’t predict a crisis. If we could then it would unlikely be a crisis. Using our associated experiences, combined with taking some time to assess the current situation forms the basis of critical thinking. A plan should be detailed enough to coordinate events and resources but flexible enough to adapt to change. An operational environment can evolve quicker than a complex plan. Being able to respond timely and appropriately is an indication of resilience.
The second experience was shaped by my first association. I knew what bad ‘looked like’ and had no desire to be embarrassment again, which made me hesitant, overly so. I’d already taken steps to mitigate against the risk of a repeat performance, even had a contingency plan, but when faced with the similar situation I chose not to respond quick enough. I was too busy contemplating the previous experience. I ignored that although similar the situation was different. That I was in fact better prepared and able to respond. However, I didn’t want to appear foolish in front of others again. Once again, my action or lack of it removed all doubt.
My failure this time was not trusting my preparations and own ability. I let my fears dictate my actions. It’s ok to be nervous and have fears, we all are, this shows you care. The minute we stop feeling like that then we either don’t care or we genuinely are ‘foolish’. The trick is to not let our fears dictate. In fact, we should seek out situations that induce these feelings on a regular basis, in the many forms they take, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s how we continue to develop. It’s how we gather the associated experiences that give us a reference point for future decisions. Not to give us a complete answer for every situation but a start point, somewhere we recognise. In doing so we speed up our thinking and decision making, increase the chance of making a right decision.
Should we make a wrong decision then there is always the opportunity to make it right. Humility is a valuable character trait. Owning your mistakes, apologising, and taking steps to rectify them are always appreciated by others. How we feel is seldom the same as others perceive us. Most of our fears seldom happen, we worry needlessly. People are either more forgiving than we give credit for or are too immersed in their own troubles and fears to notice ours.
As I reflect on the various situations that I’ve ever found myself in, none of them have been made worse by taking time to think. That thought process could be a few weeks as I research and find out more information. It could be over night, taking time to sleep on a problem and get a fresh perspective when emotions have calmed. Or merely a few seconds. Valuable seconds, where I have taken a step back, considered my options, decided based on what I know rather than an assumption. Sometimes this proved to be wrong once unknown factors became clear. Being able to adjust our position as a situation unfolds demonstrates an agility to our thought process.
Ultimately, we want to make the ‘right decision ‘as opposed to ‘making them right’. Experience and taking time are a big part in this. However, we will get caught off guard at some point. The important thing is not to compound any error. Get back in position and carry on, deal with what you now face.
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