A520.3.1.RB.HoyeJennifer

Complex Decision Making

A few words that describe my decision-making style would be, well thought out, realistic, and non-wavering! While browsing the web, I came across a Ladies Home Journal Quiz titled : "What's Your Decision Making Style".

The questions were highly tailored to women (duh...it IS Ladies Home Journal), and according to the results, I am as follows:

You're Reasoned and Wise -- Atta Girl!

You know what you want, and you know how to get there. You have the ability to define your problems, and determine if the problem is real or merely a symptom of a larger dilemma. The secret of making good decisions comes from the knowledge of what you want to achieve, as well as a strong grasp of what you wish to avoid. You use a well-measured combination of information and intuition to develop a plan of action that usually leads to a good result.There are calculated risks in even the most reasoned decision. You are aware of the potential consequences of each path you choose, and often develop alternatives to create a "hybrid" solution. Once you have a clear understanding of what your goals are, you strive to maximize the probability that your decision will lead to the fulfillment of your dreams.

"Effective decision-makers reexamine all the information they have gathered before making a final decision. They also figure out how to implement their decision and make contingency plans just in case any risks materialize," say Daniel Wheeler and Irving Janis, authors of A Practical Guide For Making Decisions (The Free Press, 1980).Sometimes the decision you have to make is not your first choice, but you know that you also have to consider the long-term consequences. When something really matters, it can affect your life for far longer than the mere moment. "If we don't care a fig about the consequences, we don't have a real decision problem, but if we want to do better than just going along for the ride, we have to be able to say what we want, and how badly we want it." advises H.W. Lewis of the University of California at Santa Barbara and author of Why Flip A Coin? (John Wiley & Sons, 1997).Keep using your well-honed intuition skills; they are definitely helping you achieve the success you deserve!


This section asked me to describe the opposite of the words picked to describe my decision-making style. Those opposites, are listed below:

Well thought out: Impulsive, neglectful, dismissed

Realistic: Unrealistic, impractical, irrational

Non-wavering: Changeable, wavable, inconsistent

I could see a benefit to making a decision using an approach that is based on either the opposites or somewhere in-between in the sense that, sometimes decisions need to be flexible or changeable. I also believe that maybe an impulsive decision, is sometimes better than one that is over-planned!