The 4 Methods of Decision Making

I have a lasting interest in how people make good decisions, especially when many people are involved, and many people are affected by the decisions.

Currently reading the book “Crucial Conversations“. Towards the end of the book, there is a section on moving from a dialogue towards concrete actions. The authors say that there are 4 methods of decision making.

The 4 methods of decision making:

1. Command – One person decides. It might be the main authority figure, or that individual might delegate the power to decide to another specific individual.
2. Consult – A person given the power to make a decision first consults widely before making a decision. Note: you can listen to someone’s opinion without taking on an obligation to use that opinion in your decision.
3. Vote – The group votes.
4. Consensus – we negotiate a position that everyone can agree to. This can take a long time, and can lead to many compromises on the decision being agreed.

When choosing which way to decide there are four questions to ask:

1. Who cares? – Don’t involve people who don’t care
2. Who knows? – Don’t involve people who cannot add value.
3. Who must agree? – Who could block the implementation later on if not part of the decision process today?
4. How many people must be involved? – The fewer the better.

If everybody is responsible, nobody is responsible. Great teams assign clear individual responsibilities and hold people to their commitments.