My Decision Framework

My overarching framework in making decisions tends to go for a balance of logic, ethics, and efficiency.

Logically, I tend to think of all (or most) possible outcomes, and I’ll gather as much information as I can to make this decision. I will think of the pros and cons to try and make the best choice of what to do. If I don’t know everything, I’ll try to research options as well as ask for help if I can.

This will also result in having to use ethics as well. I try to think of who the stakeholders are, including myself, and the benefit or detriment of everyone involved of each possible outcome. My main ethical framework in decisions focuses on utilitarianism — the best net option overall. However, if I feel the individual benefit among stakeholders is too unbalanced, I may favor an option that is more equal overall.

A recently more substantial factor that I’ve grown to use in decision making focuses on trying to be more efficient with the time spent on making them. Combining a bit of my first two approaches, I first like to weigh the importance of the decision, and that will determine how much time I’ll spend on making it. In a work environment, this tends to be a more important factor when decisions have to be made fast. It’s often more efficient to go ahead and make a generally well-thought decision rather than try to make it perfect by spending a significant amount of time to get the last details.