dBlogIt | Dustin Boston

This is part 4 of a 4 part series on decision-making.
Check out How to Make Great Decisions: Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 for the rest of the series.

Do you feel confident after you make a decision? In the past, I would have answered no. Recently I discovered a method for making decisions that changed that!

So far, in this series, we have stated the problem and collected data. Now we have to analyze the data and make a decision. In all my research about decision-making, no tool has been as useful as the “decision grid.” In fact, it has been so useful that I spent hours creating one.

Why did I make my own? Because most of the resources I found were not easy enough to use! So here you go—Decision Grid 1.0. It is simple, free, and easy to use!

Here is how it works:

1. Start by stating the problem.
2. Next, list the factors influencing your decision.
3. Now write out all the solutions you can think of—including the option to do nothing.
4. Next rate the importance of each factor and then how well each solution meets that criterion. This is the hardest part because it is subjective. However, there is no completely objective (or practical) way to quantify things like how well the chicken coop looks by the stump, for example.
5. The final step is to multiply the rating by the importance for each factor of each solution and add up the results. Whatever solution has the highest result is your best bet. It seems like a lot, but it is all on the grid.

Start making decisions with confidence—download the form and print it out so you will have it ready for your next big decision.