Have you ever made a decision that sounded like this?
“Should I stay in my job or quit?”
“Should we move forward on the house remodel or not?”
“Should we hire a new employee to join our team, or keep spreading the work among the 4 of us?”
We are so inclined to make major life or work decisions in these either-or terms. But this is a HUGE mistake.
Either-Or Scenario: an unavoidable choice or exclusive division between only two alternatives.
Many years ago we created this system because we saw a need for better ways to transfer valuable critical thinking skills to leaders and teams. In workshop after workshop, attendees told us one of the most valuable tips for making better decisions was to use our CAR acronym.
Why? Because the CAR approach breaks down decision making into three easy-to-remember steps.
If you missed it, we revealed the C in Car, which stands for Criteria. Today we’ll discuss the the A in our valuable CAR acronym, which stands for Alternatives.
A – Alternatives
Secret: Seek multiple options
Several years ago, a study by Paul Nutt analyzed 168 business decisions. In the study, he discovered that in only 29% of those decisions, more than one alternative was considered. Of the decisions where only one alternative was considered, more than 50% failed over the long term, versus less than 30% of the decisions with two or more alternatives.
Read that again: Over HALF of all “either – or” decisions FAILED.
Why do these decisions fail more often?
When a person pursues a single option, they’ll spend most of their time forcing an option into success, rather than taking the time to zoom out and ask deeper questions.
Nutt argues that within their pursuit of that one thing, people hyper-focused on “How can I make this work? What do I need to do? How can I get my family or colleagues behind me?” Meanwhile, other vital questions remain neglected. “Is there a better way? What else can we do?”
When utilizing these either-or scenarios (and we’re all guilty of it daily) we not only limit our options, but we also limit our creativity. We limit our ability to reach into other possibilities to bring to fruition. We limit the discussion. We limit ourselves.
How do we fix this?
To escape this trap, we must avoid binary (either-or) decision statements. Instead, ask “Are there other alternatives we haven’t considered?” In our experience, every binary decision can be re-framed to create more viable options.
Here’s an example. In a recent Decision Analysis workshop, a team was facing a very important decision. It was stated as “Should we expand our operations into Canada?” (Notice that even without the “or…..” this is still a classic either-or decision).
Can you guess what happened next?
One team member loved the idea & wanted to move forward immediately.
Another hated the idea and wanted to stop expansion altogether.
A third person wanted to expand, but to a different country.
The discussion ended with no alignment, no decision, and no path forward to break the impasse.
During the debrief, it was pointed out that the team could benefit by re-framing the decision statement.
Instead of “Should we expand to Canada or not?” we suggested “Choose best strategy for expansion.”
By re-framing the decision, many new alterative options became available:
Expand geographically (Canada/Mexico/etc)
Expand product offerings in the USA
Form alliances with key partners
Expand through acquisitions
Once they agreed on the new, broader decision statement, they seamlessly transitioned into the next step: a productive discussion of Musts and Wants for the decision.
So what’s the takeaway?
Next time you face an either-or decision, reframe it to create multiple options. Your decision quality will immediately improve.
Download more tips to create multiple options in your team’s decision making!
And stay tuned as we reveal our final decision-making secret: The “R” in the CAR acronym.
Ready to dial up your team's decision making effectiveness? Check out one of our decision making workshops or online courses!
Comments