Decision Making For Dummies

Discover the best approaches for making business decisions

Today's business leaders have to face the facts--you can't
separate leadership from decision making. The importance of making
decisions, no matter how big or small, cannot be overstated.
Decision Making For Dummies is a candid resource that helps
leaders understand the impact of their choices, not only on
business, but also on their credibility and reputation. Designed
for managers, business owners, and anyone else who makes tough
decisions on a daily basis, this guide helps you figure out if the
decisions you're making are the right ones.

In addition to helping you explore how to evaluate your choices,
Decision Making For Dummies covers ways to receive support
for decision making, delves into various decision-making styles,
reviews the importance of sifting through data and information, and
includes information on ways to engage others and make decisions
collectively. Being in charge can be challenging, but with this
guide, you don't have to go it alone.

• Discusses the effects of decision making and outlines the
  considerations that must be made to gain trust and confidence

• Demonstrates ways to communicate particularly sensitive
  decisions, and offers approaches for making bold decisions that
  challenge the status quo

• Delves into the risks and benefits of certain decisions, and
  shows readers the best ways to evaluate choices

• Outlines smart strategies for engaging others and drawing them
  into the decision-making process

Crucial decisions need to be made every day in the business
world, so there's no time to waste. Make Decision Making For
Dummies your primary resource for learning to choose your
actions wisely and confidently.

Auteur

Dawna Jones generates imaginative insights and applies 25 years experience in helping businesses and organizations make bold decisions. She co-designs the future of organizations, transforming them from "business-as-usual" to inclusive cultures of prosperity.

Résumé
Discover the best approaches for making business decisions Today's business leaders have to face the factsyou can't separate leadership from decision making. The importance of making decisions, no matter how big or small, cannot be overstated. Decision Making For Dummies is a candid resource that helps leaders understand the impact of their choices, not only on business, but also on their credibility and reputation. Designed for managers, business owners, and anyone else who makes tough decisions on a daily basis, this guide helps you figure out if the decisions you're making are the right ones.

In addition to helping you explore how to evaluate your choices, Decision Making For Dummies covers ways to receive support for decision making, delves into various decision-making styles, reviews the importance of sifting through data and information, and includes information on ways to engage others and make decisions collectively. Being in charge can be challenging, but with this guide, you don't have to go it alone.

• Discusses the effects of decision making and outlines the considerations that must be made to gain trust and confidence
• Demonstrates ways to communicate particularly sensitive decisions, and offers approaches for making bold decisions that challenge the status quo
• Delves into the risks and benefits of certain decisions, and shows readers the best ways to evaluate choices
• Outlines smart strategies for engaging others and drawing them into the decision-making process
  Crucial decisions need to be made every day in the business world, so there's no time to waste. Make Decision Making For Dummies your primary resource for learning to choose your actions wisely and confidently.

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part I: Getting Started with Decision-Making 5

Chapter 1: Big-Picture Pressures on Decision-Makers 7

Making Decisions in an Ever-Changing World 7

The ground shifting beneath your feet 8

Assessing what these changes mean to you 11

Embracing Uncertainty and Unpredictability 12

Increase integrity and truth-telling 13

Notice what is happening on the innovative edges 13

Don't limit planning to an annual task 14

Make your decision-making process values-based 14

Cultivate learning and curiosity 14

Invest in your personal and professional growth 15

Raising the Integrity and Ethics of Business Decisions 15

Overcoming factors that lead to unethical decisions 16

Designing a healthy decision-making environment 17

Chapter 2: The Key Ingredients for Effective Decisions 19

Distinguishing the Different Kinds of Decisions 19

Strategic decisions 20

Tactical decisions 21

Operational and frontline decisions 21

Identifying the Different Decision-Making Styles 21

Recognizing the Workplace Environment and Culture as a Force 23

Mapping your company on the innovation curve 23

Accounting for company organizational structures 25

Assessing the health of the workplace 30

Developing the Decision-Maker: To Grow or Not? 30

Knowing thyself 31

Avoiding temptations that obstruct sound decisions 31

Chapter 3: Company Culture and Decision-Making 33

Recognizing the Importance of Company Culture 34

Paying attention to invisible forces 34

Assessing your company's mindset 36

Spotting addictions in company culture 37

Creating High Performance Workplaces for Decision-Making 38

Paying attention to long- and short-term focus 38

Using smart design to speed up decision-making 39

Paying attention to working relationships 42

Assessing Risk and Its Impact on Decision-Making 43

Understanding how humans perceive risk 43

Working with risk in a complex world 46

Part II: Knowing and Growing Yourself as a Decision-Maker 49

Chapter 4: Growing Your Business by Growing Yourself 51

Connecting Personal Growth to Effective Decision-Making 51

Exploring vulnerability as a leadership quality 53

Having compassion for the ego 54

Tapping into emotions for effective decision-making 55

Recognizing How Beliefs Influence Decision-Making 57

Examining your beliefs: Do they limit your options? 57

Understanding how you perceive insight, intuition, and vision 60

Acknowledging hidden bias or prejudice 60

Gauging Personal Comfort with Conflict and Ambiguity 62

Using conflict to your advantage 62

Understanding classic responses to conflict 64

Chapter 5: Raising Self- and Organizational Awareness for Better Decisions 67

Understanding How You Make Decisions 68

Instinctual decision-making 68

Subconscious decision-making 68

Belief-based decision-making 69

Values-based decision-making 70

Values-driven decision-making 70

Comprehending the Value of a Deeper Intelligence 71

The link between your heart and your head in decision-making 71

Putting this knowledge to work 72

Reducing Stress to Make Better Decisions 73

Manager, manage thyself 74

Managing the manager 75

Practical ways to reduce stress in working relationships 76

Chapter 6: Learning from Mistakes and Unintended Consequences 79

Engaging in Reflective Learning 79

Identifying blind spots in the decision-making process 80 Learning from decis...