Thank you for being a reader of Transition Edge. Please feel free to forward it to friends who you think might enjoy it too.

I’m Grant Symons. I convene Transition Edge to help us understand how we can transition to a low carbon sustainable world using leading thinking and practices.

We make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions every day. The vast majority being handled through our subconscious/habits. Turn here, say this, move that, adjust something else and so on.

These are largely automatic, thank goodness. What would life be like if we had to stop and think every single time about which foot to move next, when to talk, which button to use on the remote (actually this still mystifies some of us!), and how to ride the bike down to the shops?

Things get more tricky when we start involving other people. What birthday gift might that friend really appreciate; who should be invited to an event; what should be the agenda for a meeting; and what might that new ad campaign say to interest the exact right audience?

Or when decisions get bigger and more serious. Should we take that new job offer, buy that house or farm, sign that contract, or finally choose between two options that have been niggling us for years? 

There has been a great deal of science and research into what makes a good decision. But...why worry about all of that, when our most senior political and business leaders don't? Their north star seems to be self interest at all cost and some polling slapped on to cover their tracks. We digress.

Of course it is in your interest to think about decision making with the rate of change going on in the world.! Before we get on to an easy to remember framework, we have a couple of other interesting perspectives on choice and decision.

Hobsons choice

This is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered, and it may come packaged in an illusion of more options. The choice is what is being offered, or nothing. As an aside, Hobson lived in England in the 16th century and owned a stable of 40 or so horses, which were rotated to ensure rest and recovery. So, although it might have looked like you could pick from any of those in the stable, the rule was you got the one closest to the door, or nothing!

No decision is still a decision

If there is a decision to be made, then it needs to be made. No decision is a decision for the status-quo. If this insight were applied rigorously to directors and senior government and business executives, there may actually be a lot more change taking place, or them fessing up to being ineffective and taking a pay cut or redundancy.

And now our easy to remember Kiwi style decision frame-work

We've given each of these three Kiwi-3 decision archetypes a very New Zealand flavour...

• The 'Rush Munro'
• The 'Bluff to the Cape roadie'
• The 'Snakes and Ladders Board'

The Rush Munro

Rush Munro is an iconic boutique ice-creamery based in Hawkes Bay New Zealand. If you ever visit Hastings, you will find the original outlet on the main street. They are known for their range of delightful styles, flavors and generous serves.

It can be difficult to choose. But, once you have decided, there is no going back, unless you have a huge capacity for ice-cream! But it is just one occasion. You might get to go back time and time again, if you are in the area and make a completely different decision.

But what if it is a big 'one-of a kind' decision, is not just about an ice cream?. How might we do the comparison of options and weigh up the positives and negatives?  There are many tools (there are a variety of free ones on-line) or with some rudimentary spread-sheeting skills, we can build a simple table that includes:

• Key attributes and priorities we care about
• Decision criteria
• Weightings for those criteria
• The ability to calculate and compare the different options
  • Just thinking about these will help!

The Bluff to the Cape

Bluff is the place at the very tip of the South Island and the Cape is at the very North of the North island. Its actual name is Cape Reinga.

New Zealand is a long skinny country made up of two main islands and the sometimes notorious stretch of sea between them, the Cook Strait.

Assuming you are doing a road trip from the Bluff to the Cape you are faced with a number of options. You could just opt for State highway 1, which is the most direct route and is the road that connects these two places.

But there also some significant alternatives to consider, that would take you through vastly different landscapes and areas of interest. These are significant deviations from the direct route and as such are not trivial decisions, as you will be investing time and effort and may be missing out on other experiences and sights. There's an opportunity cost to the root you choose.

These kind of decisions can have significant knock on affects. They may cause us to be sidetracked from the main objective, which may be a good thing!

The Snakes and Ladders Board

The combination of 'Rush Munro' and 'Bluff to Cape' is the 'Snakes and Ladders Board'. In this frame we might have to make decisions rapidly and these decisions might have positive or negative consequences.

In this frame we are constantly watching and assessing the state of the wider game. How much risk we are willing to take for what benefit? 

In real life, we aren't in fact as subject to the roll of the dice as in the game, because we have time to gather and process information and we are constantly learning. 

In this decision frame we might want to create options, experiment and spread risk. Situational awareness is our friend and risk and opportunity can come and go quickly.

Putting it altogether

With these archetypes in mind, we are going to be able to characterise the kind of decision we are making, at least in terms of our posture while making them, and the potential ongoing consequences.

In terms of making a decision that we are comfortable with, that feels right and that we can look back on as being a good one, here are a few questions and tips we might consider to improve decision quality: 

• What is driving this decision?
• What state/emotional state are we in to make the decision? Overly excited or overly fearful can impair our decision.
• Are we influenced by biases in any way?
• How urgent is this decision?
• Is specific timing important?
• Have we taken advice or soundings from those we trust?
• Have we had a close confidant play the devils advocate? 
• And have we been open to listening to that frank or counter advice?
• Have we given the decision our proper attention?
• Have we done the math, weighing attributes and priorities and probabilities? (Referred to in the The Rush Munro)

If we have a plan and process and follow it, chances are we will make a good decision.

And, let's not forget that we may not get it right, the decision may turn out to be a fail. Variables might have changed or things may not have worked out as expected. This is real life and it is how we learn. 

The good news is that if we have followed a good process in making the decision in the first place, even if it doesn't work out, we are going to learn more from that process.

Failure is literally the best way to be ready for the next decision! 

And possibly many more after it, if we are having to learn fast...!

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For those of you who are interested in improving your awareness and decision making skills, don't hesitate to get in touch. In Real Transition Leaders and Real Transition Ambassadors we provide you with key information that will impact your decision making.  And remember, doing nothing is still a decision for your status-quo! So why not join us?

This week’s quote

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives — choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
                                                                ― Aristotle

 And 'NEWSFLASH' we have just had a major refresh of our website. Many thanks to the team and those friends of THQ that have generously provided guidance and feedback and contributed through the process. If you have time you can check it out here