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Decision making is both a science and an art. The science is summarized here:
Define the problem; define the whole problem; define the whole problem completely.
DecisionsDocument
Brainstorm solutions.
Test each solution for realizability.
The art of decision making has to do with timing. At what point do you decide you have the information you need to implement a decision?
What if you wait until tomorrow? Will the information change?
No one can foretell the future. As such, the most expedient way of decision making is to do it now. If something changes tomorrow, the premises for the decision can be re-examined if appropriate.
Allow an example: We had a soft top sports car for sale. We advertised it in the winter. We got two bites. One decided, sight unseen, to buy another car. Another came over and test drove the car, and found fault with it.
Selling a car is like selling a house. Everyone will find fault with it. Some one will find it perfect and buy it.
We advertised the car again in the early summer, a good time to sell a convertible. We got no calls. We sold the car at wholesale to a dealer.
After the car was gone, we got three calls from interested buyers. Had we made a mistake? Had we acted in haste selling at wholesale when we had interested people in paying retail?
We had interested people, all right. However, would they actually buy the car? We had no way of knowing.
Selling the car at wholesale, it was a done deal. The dealer handled all the paperwork, and cut a check to us. Would a looker have turned into a buyer? Would they have the money to spend? Would they have closed?
No one knows. While it would have been nice to get more money, there was no guarantee that this would happen.
We had made a decision based on the best available information and acted on it. Were we wrong? Maybe, perhaps, but not likely.
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