In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do
is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing
you can do is nothing.
Well, it is our
first week and I am as usual overwhelmed…not only by the amount of information
presented to us in the module, but moreover due to the scientific discussions
regarding our decision making processes. I think one thing is for certain, this
class is going to continue to provide several "ah-ha" moments as our
future assignments unfold.
As I was reading
the chapter, I was able to see how many of my daily decisions are made by
referring to past experiences, and navigating through recent examples and
outcomes which provided either positive or negative feedback to the outcome in
which I wish to achieve. In this type of scenario, as our text points out, I am
looking for patters to guide me towards more favorable outcomes, or what has
shown over a repetitive time to provide optimal results (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001) . But I found it
incredibly interesting how our minds work when it comes to making decisions.
For instance, as
blonde as it may sound, I never realized how easily decisions can be made when
faced with several challenges, by one simple exercise - take your emotions out
of the equation - and the answers almost seem deceptively easy. I never
considered how much we tend to overcomplicate business decisions, or any
decision for that matter, by allowing emotions to influence our entire process
(Hoch et al, 2001). I find myself obsessing about this fact now and I feel like
I am able to see so many personal and professional areas in entirely different
light...by just taking emotion out of the equation.
From the moment
I read this over the course of the week, I literally found myself using the
practice of it without thinking; my husband was telling me about his day, and
already my mind was making a list of all the emotions he was emitting as he
spoke. He was explaining how he was really fired up and frustrated about a
conference call regarding a potential employee went south. As he began to
explain that this potential new employee, whom is also an old work partner and
friend, sent an email to the president of the company regarding the salary
offer was inadequate considering his current salary was almost $15,000 higher.
My husband was incredibly frustrated because he, and others in the company, had
already explained numerous times that the sales position had a much higher
level of commissioned compensation, as well as the numerous other benefits
being offered that his current employer does not extend.
Considering the
base salary range had already been discussed prior to the offer being made, and
the entire compensation package had been gone over in detail and the prospect
said he understood and had no issue, my husband was disappointed that the offer
was then not acceptable. He was unnerved not only because multiple people
discussed the earning potential would be in excess of $35,000 more in year one,
but also because the prospect was agreeable and had already verbally accepted
the offer with multiple people; to reach out to the president unknowingly to
have the offer re-negotiated seemed unprofessional and uncalled for.
As I listened to
him vent, I asked him why he was unhappy; was it because the prospect was a
friend, or it was a "done deal" and presented that way to senior
management, or because if he was going to hired and report to you and is
already playing these types of games, you feel you may have made a mistake in
recommending him for the opportunity?
As we talked
through the various feelings and emotions that were taking place, I asked him a
series of questions which basically came down to a business decision...is he
the best person for the job and your team, and if you do not meet his request,
would you be able to find an equal or better qualified candidate instead to
fill the position at this time?
I explained an
alternate point of view by simply pointing out that if the prospect is still
the best business decision for you and your team, then handle one part of the
equation at a time; get the best person hired at a fair salary to keep business
continuity on track. There will always be time to address more appropriate ways
in which your team prefers communications in the future and the expected
following of the chain of command when concerns arise. Once we took emotion out
of the equation, it was much easier to isolate the peripheral noise confusing
what the best business decision was for the operational goals of the business –
to get this particular prospect hired. It seemed a logical and reasonable
solution, as his skill set is what is unique, and in time he can be coached and
mentored regarding his communication style versus what is the cultural norm for
the business.
Additionally
this week, we also touched on the dangers of being myopic; often times in my
current leadership position, I do not tend to have a great deal of time to
gather and mull over large amounts of financial data in order to base my
decisions on. In a perfect world, I would love to have a few days to gather and
dig into various ways of slicing and dicing the numbers so I could feel more
secure in important decisions that impact my business office and our overall
facility, but the reality is that time will never be available to me right when
I actually need it. Our fast paced environment often forces me to make
knee-jerk decisions based on current experiences. This is because healthcare is
a very fast paced and information rich environment. But I am now learning to
base them upon repetitive scenarios and post-research reviews as my senior
management team prefers consistency in our operations and communications.
What I have been
trying to do over the past few months after making a determination regarding
our revenue position is go back and evaluate my work and the actual outcome a
few weeks later to see if my assumptions are reasonable. That way for the next
month end process, I have refined my criteria and evaluated my actions for
going forward. If they appear reasonable, there is no reason to modify my
current process. If I was too high in my estimations I can be adequately
prepared to base my process and current input of information in a more
appropriate manner after identifying where I went awry.
Although I do
see how it would be appropriate to use Bellman's equation to solve complex
linear problems in some respects, I am not at this time feeling that this would
be a practical solution for me to learn to become a better forward thinker (Hoch
et al, 2001, p. 42). However, I do see after the topics we explored this week
that we tend to underestimate the value of the untapped potential in the
future.
One of the
things I think will stick with me for life was also the video and discussion
this week regarding errors in judgment towards forward thinking and estimating
value. This week, we came across that there are two types of errors we seem to
inherently make; we are underestimating the value and chances of success, as
well as the way we tend to calculate odds leads to our failures (Gilbert,
2005). As Gilbert points out, we rationalize our decision making by referencing
our past experiences (Gilbert, 2005) versus being able to compare more relevant
factors. As our reading this week confirmed, people tend to make emotional
trade-offs when confronted with difficult decisions (Hoch et al, 2001, p. 21). Going
forward, I think that when attempting to make better decisions as managers, we
must remove the emotional and impulsive aspect from our routines to be able to
improve decision accuracy, and minimize our efforts and “…negative emotions…” that
can often lead to inappropriate decisions in the end (Hoch et al, 2001, p. 29).
The tools and exposure this week will no doubt lead us to laying a solid
foundation in which to do this.
Overall I think
it was a fantastic start to our semester and I have never been more excited
about a class and the content presented so far as I have been this week.
Until we blog
again!
Gilbert, D.
(2005, July). Why we make bad decisions. Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
Ted.com: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_researches_happiness#t-375013
Hoch, S. J.,
Kunreuther, H. C., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton On Making Decisions.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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