George S. Chua l 4 May 2022 l Manila Bulletin
Many people go through life with many regrets due to making the wrong decision. Allow me to share with you some of the things that I consider in making a decision and by no means have I been able to make the right decision all of the time. However, I would like to think that I learn something from every wrong decision I have made and don’t make the same mistake twice.
Amongst the most important factors I consider in the decision making process are; what is at stake, when the decision has to be made, what is the worst case scenario, what is the likely outcome, what are the long term repercussions, and is it reversible? The most important thing to take into account is determining what is at stake. Is it a trivial matter of making a bad choice in the dessert you ordered or are we talking about making the wrong decision on who you married? The more important your decision is, the more time and effort you need to put into your decision making process.
The timing of when the decision has to be made must also be taken into account. Ideally you would want to have some time to consider your options and not be rushed into making a decision. As an example, if you are buying a house, you don’t want the agent to tell you that you have to make the decision today because someone is already going to buy the house tomorrow! It would be prudent on your part to look at other houses for sale and see if there is something better for you.
You should also consider the worst case scenario in every decision you make, but if the losses in a worst case situation is only a small amount, then there is no need to lose sleep over it. When you are buying a lottery ticket and spend one thousand pesos, this is the maximum amount you can lose. However, when you are in a casino where you can bet millions of pesos in one go, your worst case scenario could mean going bankrupt overnight! You would best avoid situations where your worst case scenario is losing everything.
Making a decision based on a most likely outcome is something most people should do. Supposing you are asked to invest in a business, you would want to know the worst case, best case and most likely outcome. You can even calculate the weighted average results so that you will have the most likely return on investment. While you want to know the extreme outcome ranges, you should not focus on that but look at the most likely outcome.
The decisions we make today may affect us for many years into the future and even for generations to come. Cheating or double crossing your business partners may give you an upper hand initially but when word gets around, your reputation will suffer and who would want to do business with you in the future? Not to mention that your business partners may just be waiting for the right time to exact revenge or file a lawsuit or criminal complaint against you.
Finally, knowing that a decision is reversible makes making a decision easier. Painting your house orange may be a decision you regret but it would be easy enough to repaint it another color. On the other hand, a doctor who recommended surgery for his patient who may die from it would need to go through extra lengths to explain the situation to the patient. After all, if the patient dies from the surgery, that decision to go ahead with the surgery is not reversible if the patient dies.
Decision making is sometimes difficult but knowing how to handle the situation and knowing what is at stake will enable you to come up with a better decision, most of the time.
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The views and comments of the author are his own and not of the newspaper or FINEX. He was 2016 FINEX President, an entrepreneur and also a professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Comments may be sent to gschua@up.edu.ph.