Idea 47: How to avoid the trap of bad compromise decisions

US research into decisions by public-sector officials suggests that decision makers rarely settle for the ‘best’ or optimum solution, being affected by emotion, power, politics, the influences of other people and our own values. Often a decision is a bad compromise between different courses of action, one that:

• Agrees to some extent with your own personal interests, needs or values.
• Meets the value standards of superiors.
• Is acceptable to those affected (by the decision and involved in carrying it out).
• Looks reasonable.
• Has an escape element of self-justification if it all goes wrong.

Clearly, such an approach to decision making must be far removed from your own approach! Follow the ideas in this section to make sure you do better.