Organizations move forward one choice at a time. Decision making is the process of identifying options, evaluating them against criteria, and selecting a course of action.

Decisions range from routine operational choices to irreversible strategic bets. Quality depends on clear framing, relevant data, appropriate involvement, and explicit criteria. Common traps include confirmation bias, analysis paralysis, and escalating commitment to failing courses of action.

Who decides matters as much as how. Pushing decisions to the lowest competent level speeds response; reserving consequential choices for senior leaders protects coherence. Recording the rationale behind major decisions improves later learning when outcomes unfold.

• Process of choosing among alternative actions
• Requires framing, data, criteria, and judgment
• Vulnerable to bias and incomplete information
• Improved by clear rights and documented reasoning