remiind.cc: What do you want to revisit?

Jason Fried on Decisions

"A company is essentially two things: a group of people and a collection of decisions. How those people make these decisions is the art of running a business.

Here are some of the things we think about at 37signals when faced with a decision. Some of these we say out loud, some we think quietly. Consider this a collection of tools in a tool chest — you only grab for the ones you need when you need them. Most stay in the box most of the time."

#1

Why are we deciding anything at all? Does a decision actually need to be made here?

#2

Is the right person making this decision? Not the right role, but the right person with the right information, context, and insight? Who’s merely chiming in?

#3

If we remove the immediate impact, how do we think we’ll feel about this decision a year from now?

#4

Why hasn’t this decision been made already? Why didn’t we decide before?

#5

What’s taking so long to make this decision? Why are we hesitating? What does that reveal?

#6

Why would someone else make a different decision? What’s the other side — or two or three — look like?

#7

Can we make this decision smaller? Can we take one big decision and turn it into three smaller ones?

#8

How easily can we reverse the decision?

#9

What was our first instinct on this decision? Are we now just walking around in circles trying to justify that gut reaction with data?

#10

What would happen if we just didn’t make the decision?

#11

What happened the last time we made a decision like this?

#12

What are we looking forward to after the decision is made? What are we afraid of?

#13

How can we make this decision easier? What parts can we eliminate from consideration?

#14

Is there even a wrong decision?

#15

Do we anticipate making a different decision if we wait until tomorrow morning to make it?

#16

Is any decision better than no decision, or is no decision better than any decision?

#17

What other decisions will be impacted by this decision?

#18

Will this decision eliminate the need to make other decisions, or will it create the necessity to make even more decisions?

#19

What missing information would lead to making a different decision?

#20

Will this decision make more work for people that don’t have extra time for that work? Or will it eliminate work?

#21

Could this decision be a good one for someone else to practice making?

#22

When do we have to decide?

#23

Will this be a one-and-done decision, or will this be a repeating decision?

#24

Is anyone outside the company depending on this, or is this a decision of our own making?

#25

How does this decision impact customers vs. impact us?

#26

Is this primarily a data-based decision, or an intuition, gut-based decision?

#27

Would another opinion help or hinder?

#28

If we were forced to make a decision right this second, what would it be?

#29

Where do we think we’d be today if we made this decision 90 days ago?

#30

Is there anything in this decision we’d regret if we didn’t take X, Y, or Z into consideration?

#31

Do you even care which way this goes? If not, why are you involved?

#32

When and how will we know whether the decision was the right one, or if it even mattered?

#33

When the consequences of our decision appear, are they likely to be visible with the naked eye or do they require a microscope to detect? If the latter, does it even matter?

#34

What principles are we bending if we make this decision?

#35

Are we asking multiple people to make a decision that one person should be making?

#36

Is the return on effort worth it?

#37

What gets easier if we make this decision? What gets harder? Will easier remain easier in the long term, or is it short-term easy but long-term hard? And vice versa.

#38

In the end, is this about money?

You have made it to the end!

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