iXiJam Mondays Topic: Making better decisions.

There is a culture we promote at iXiGO, that of sharing knowledge and improving everyone's knowledge about the scene and also training sessions. Part of this is a one hour session taken by one of our iXiGems every Monday on a topic of interest to him (or her) or something that he (or she) has invested time in and therefore wishes to share this knowledge.

This is our favourite part of the day where we have intense discussions and question and answer sessions and those Monday blues are often driven away. Some of the topics range from are identifying Body Language, Subprime crisis, Venture Capitalists and even weird ones like the Secrets of the U.S Goverment... We thought it would be a good idea to share the highlights with our extended family, the iXiGOER as well.

Today's topic was on making smarter decisions. What are the key things you must take into account to make better decisions? The session was taken by Lokesh and here we thought we'll highlight a summary of the topic.

"We make our decisions and then they make us."

That's why every decision has an element of risk to it. We can't always predict the outcome. Decisions are made all the time and at every place whether its as complex as switching a job or getting into a relationship to something simple as what color socks you wish to wear that day.

Generally decisions are made on the culmination of past experience, shared ideas or advice from family and friends or influenced by your way of thinking.

In order to make a decision the first step is usually to identify the purpose of your decision.
What is exactly the problem to be solved? Why it should be solved? Once you have that Goal written down here is a quick step check to solve a particular problem and take a decision.

1. GET THE FACTS! (Principle of Information) - Don't make decisions out of ignorance. Find out all you can first. "Every prudent man acts out of knowledge."

2. ASK FOR ADVICE (Consultation) - Talk to someone who has already taken the risk if possible. It's wise to learn from experience - but it is even wiser to learn from the experiences of others! That way you don't have to learn everything the hard way.

3. SET YOUR GOAL (Selection) - Be sure you understand the reason and purpose for the decision you're about to make. You can't chase two rabbits at the same time.

4. COUNT THE COST (Evaluation) - This is called a "calculated risk."
Ask yourself three things.
1. Is it necessary?
2. What will it cost ... in terms of time, energy, money?
3. Is it worth it?

5. PLAN FOR PROBLEMS (Preparation) - Remember Murphy's Law - and he was an optimist! Don't ignore problems - they won't ignore you. So be prepared.

6. BACKUP ALWAYS : This is much easier after you go through the above preparation steps.

7. ACTION: Put the decision into action. Transform your decision into specific plan of action steps. Execute your plan.

8. EVALUATE: Evaluate the outcome of your decision and action steps. What lessons can be learnt? This is an important step for further development of your decision making skills and judgement.

And what do you do about snap decisions that must be taken? Generally take a second longer to think, assimilate the facts together and then go ahead. As Lokesh puts it, decision making is 98 % preparation and 2 % luck. Here's to your better smarter decisions in the future!