Decision Making – The Human Element

This is an extract from a brilliant article on the blog of Deepak Chopra.

The conventional wisdom – taught at business schools and in government – is that good decisions need more objectivity based on logic and data rather than subjectivity based on the human element. This however goes against the fact that all decisions are essentially human since we do not have any machines making these decisions for us. In fact, history has demonstrated that the greatest decisions always involved a mix of human genius, passion and determination…

What does this means for you and the decisions you must make? It means that to make good decisions, you must make them with full awareness of the human situation. If you make every big decision on the basis of a dry, rational calculation, you might shut out the very things that go into a good decision.

So what are the human elements of decisions? Well, there are 4:

Emotions – Good decisions aren’t based on negative emotions such as fear, rivalry, anger and greed. Your choice of decision should fit in with your most positive emotions and avoid negative ones.

Self – This isn’t ego. It is the calm, secure core of who you are. Ego is the drive to satisfy the demands of “I, me, and mine.” We all have egos, but highly successful people have learned to act from their true selves.

Vision – Vision turns the jumble of thoughts in your head into a coherent perspective, turning chaos into order. Here you know what you’re passionate about and you follow your highest aspirations. When you face difficult, challenging times, it is this vision that sees you through.

Surroundings – All decisions are made in a context. There is no one size fits all formula. Most people however are always fighting or always compromising. They always embrace risk or always avoid it. Like the stopped clock that is right two times a day, you might get it right occasionally but you won’t be flexible, dynamic, and adaptable. Good decisions require you to assess the situation you find yourself in. This is one area where logic and in-depth analysis helps. Yet even here, the best decisions are made by someone who can feel his way along, not by someone who relies totally on data.

If you embrace the human dimension, your decisions will always turn out to be win-win. Either you will make the right decision, or if something goes wrong, you will learn from your mistakes. This is the attitude that highly successful people adopt.