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• Your service department would report more customer In your company, take time to recognize employees who
complaints about delayed orders. make good decisions based on sound evidence. Don't focus
• You wouldn't see cost savings at the end of the quarter. exclusively on outcomes, as that approach can encourage
• Administration staff would complain of poor service from the employees to perpetuate mistakes by continuing to try to fix
new supplier. them.
• The carrier could go out of business, leaving you to find a 7. Be honest with yourself
new supplier.
This type of exercise can help you see the potential pitfalls of Before gathering evidence to make a decision, take time to
review your own motivations. Is your mind already made up?
a decision and take steps to avoid them. Are you really gathering evidence objectively, or are you simply
Even a generally good plan will have costs and potential looking to confirm an existing idea?
problems. Ask for information on how the plan could go wrong. Being aware of your own motivations can help you remain
Play the devil's advocate. Examine all the evidence, both bad objective and focus on finding the best possible solution for
and good. Don't underestimate the costs and effort required.
your business.
6. Let go of past mistakes
Be decisive
People have a tendency to make choices that justify past Briskly proceed through the seven previous steps and then
experiences, even when a previous decision has not worked make a decision.
out as well as they'd planned. We also tend to spend time and
money fixing past problems, when it would be more useful to
acknowledge the mistake and move on.
Making sound decisions means taking into account the evidence
that is available at the time. Sometimes the context changes
and that decision is no longer valid. Recognize that you made
the best decision possible under the circumstances, and then
review the situation to see whether a different decision is now
called for.

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