It
is understood that no two people are exactly the same. How could we be? We all
developed differently. We have different home lives, different educators,
different genes, etc. Therefore, the way that we think is different. No two
people have been influenced exactly the same so it is no surprise that my
approach to decision making may differ from others. An example of that from
this class, even, happened just this week. For our group discussion, we were
given a choice between two topics – either discussing creative problem solving
or supportive communication. (I chose to discuss creative problem solving
because it was easier to find quantitative research on the subject and also
because it seemed that most of my classmates were posting about supportive
communication and I wanted to bring a fresh topic to the group to break the
monotony.)
For
this blog today, I was given a video to watch titled Decision-making strategies (2004). In the video, we were given a
small set of words from which to choose that best described us. The words that
describe my approach to making decisions is as follows:
·
Cautious
(vs risk taking)
·
Logical
(vs intuitive)
·
Influenced
by others (vs self-motivated)
·
Rational
(vs feeling or emotional)
·
Active
(vs passive)
·
Assertive
(vs quiet)
My
approach to decision making has most certainly changed over the course of my career.
For example, as I have grown professionally, I feel that I have learned to
allow myself to be influenced by others a little more. That isn’t to say that I
am not self-motivated to an extent. I have, however, accepted that the
collective wisdom of the team typically is greater than my own wisdom.
I
will openly admit one shortcoming that I have with decision making (and productivity
in general). I am a procrastinator. I used to joke around as say that I
procrastinated because if you wait until the last minute to get something done
then it only takes you a minute to do it. The truth is that I tend to
procrastinate because I sometimes am afraid of making the wrong decision. Due
to my rational, cautious, and logical nature – all traits that I believe that I
inherited from my mother as she is exactly the same – I often delay action to
the point to where it often seems rushed and reactive.
I
was recently encouraged to learn a common trait shared by original thinkers.
Adam Grant a professor of management and psychology at the Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania. I met him about a year and a half ago when he was
speaking at a school recruiting expo here in Manhattan. After meeting him, I
started following him on his social media sites and, of course, I searched his
TED Talks. Grant (2004) points explains that one unique quality shared by “original”
thinkers – those that seem to come up with the most revolutionary ideas – is that
they procrastinate just a little. He brings up some very interesting points. In
industry, “first movers”, Grant points out, have a failure rate of 47%. “Improvers”,
on the other hand – us procrastinators who would rather observe what is
happening and just expand on an idea – have a failure rate of only 8%.
(Unfortunately, I do now know exactly where he obtained that data but I do
trust it to be accurate due to his credibility.) There are some very prevalent
names in various industries today that actually prove this point. Think of
Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg waited for a great idea to come along and then
enhanced it. Think of hybrid cars. The first hybrid car was actually developed
in 1976 by Toyota (HybridCars.com, 2011). However, it took Honda until 1999 to
release the Insight to the market which is probably the first hybrid car that
we all remember. All of this isn’t to say that we can justify procrastination.
It is, rather to say, that it is okay to be a cautious decision maker. It is
okay for me to collect data and process it and take more calculated risks
rather than to act impulsively. It is okay for me to make decisions the way
that I do.
One
final point before I close, though. It is also okay to fail. Professor Grant
also explains how great orchestral works are discovered. He states that “even
the three icons of classical music – Back, Beethoven, Mozart – had to generate
hundreds and hundreds of compositions to come up with a much smaller number
masterpieces” (Grant, 2004). It is okay to come up with ideas that fail to find
the ones that don’t. This, unfortunately, is an area where my cautiousness may
hold me back. I need to learn to be more accepting of failure. That will be my
goal this week – to be courageous with my ideas and to be okay with failing.
Decision-making strategies [Video file].
(2004). In Films On Demand. Retrieved June 18, 2016, from
fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=-1&xtid=34513
Grant,
A. (2016, Feb). Adam Grant: The
surprising habits of original thinkers [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_of_original_thinkers
History
of Hybrid Vehicles - HybridCars.com. (2011). Retrieved June 18, 2016, from http://www.hybridcars.com/history-of-hybrid-vehicles/
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