It’s interesting that many of the skills learned in management training classes are applicable outside the work and business environment.  Communication, problem-solving, negotiation – they are all intrinsic to our everyday lives in one form or another.   Perhaps in no other area is this so clear as in decision-making.  From deciding what to eat and when to sleep, this selective process stretches up to what to buy, where to work and how to respond to others – all matters of great importance in the business realm.

It’s right then that training should be provided in how to make decisions quickly, accurately and with an action-focused trajectory.  Many business courses teach such traditional methods as SWOT and PEST analyses, as well as decision trees and ‘groupthink’ issues.  More recently the focus is on decision-making styles and software.  These objectify the decision-making process (respectively) by bringing to light the tacit assumptions behind our decisions, or by attempting to eliminating the human element altogether.

Daily choices lie below the need for this level of complex analysis.  What stops us becoming good decision-makers tends to be one (or more) of three factors: information overload, poor goal-setting, and passivity about personal rights.  That’s why a decision-making course must integrate methods with training on information management, self-coaching and even assertiveness.  Unless we know what we want and are determined that we want it, all the methods in the world are of little use!

Our next course takes place this Saturday 24^th November at Queen’s University and is entitled Hyperchoice: Decision-Making in a World of Alternatives.  Follow the link for more details.

This post appeared first on LInked Business Strategists, for which Sensei Learning and Performance writes a weekly column on Business Start-up Strategies.  You can join the forum and read other similar columns and blogs, by signing up as a user.

One of the greatest pressures in modern life is making choices.

There are so many options available, whether in ethics or politics, personal or work life. In this course you will discover your decision-making style and what assumptions shape your choices. You will learn simple decision-making techniques and models for every situation.

Choose less stress by signing up!

Cost: £23
QUB is hosting this event. Call the School of Education (Open Learning) at Queen’s University 028 9097 3539/3323 or email opmailto:openlearning.education@qub.ac.uk to book your place.