Acting Decisively

with Dorie Clark

Decision-Making Checklist
To make good decisions, we need good data. But data isn’t just facts and figures. Here’s a checklist of
questions to ask yourself, to make sure you’re taking into account all the relevant information in order to
decide quickly and well.

Is there “hard data” (such as facts and statistics) available that relate to your question or issue? If yes,
where and how can you get it? Research firms and government statistics may be useful here.

Do case studies— written by business schools or the news media—exist about this topic?

Do you have personal experience with an analogous situation? What’s similar between your current
and past situations, and what’s different? How might that impact your course of action?

What do your trusted colleagues think about the situation? Do they have experience that’s different
than yours related to this issue, and how might that give them unique insights?

What does your gut instinct say? We can’t rely on our gut exclusively—but too many leaders ignore it
completely, and miss out on important subconscious signals of danger (or opportunity).

Acting Decisively with Dorie Clark

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