Episode 16 – Avoiding a narrow frame – Should I resign from this job or not?

Should I resign from this job or not? Vs.
What do I enjoy doing for my career and how do I get to it?

Today at PODSHORTS, we’ll talk about one of the villains of decision making – Avoiding a narrow frame

A researcher named Rook Fischoff wanted to understand more about the teenage decision making process – so he and his colleagues interviewed teenagers

Most of us think of decisions are one where we need to choose from 2 or more options – ‘Should we eat at Chipotle or Subway’. Which color shirt should we buy – navy, blue or black?

The teenagers decisions rarely had the structure – most common type was one that lacked any choice at all – one he called ‘a statement of resolve’. An example would be – “I am going to stop blaming others’.
In other examples, teens assessed a single option – ‘I am deciding whether or not to breakup with my boyfriend’

The authors refer to these as ‘Whether or not’ decisions. It isn’t a decision between multiple options, it is simply an up or down vote on a single alternative.

These two categories – statements of resolve and whether or not decisions composed 65% of teenagers decisions.

As it turns out when it comes to making decisions, some organizations are a lot like teenagers.

The authors calls out a study where of the teams he studies, only 29% considered more than one alternative.

Whether or Not decisions failed 52% of the time in the long term vs only 32% decisions with two or more alternatives

Why do whether or not decisions fail more often?

When a manager pursues a single option – she spends time asking – how can I make this work?

How can I get my colleagues behind me? Meanwhile, other vital options get neglected. Is there a better way? What else can we do?

Widen your options. Can we broaden a narrow frame and discover better options for ourselves?
Next time you hear yourself ask a whether/not decision – step back and reevaluate your options.
A way to break out of narrow frame – is to use an opportunity cost question. What else can we do with the same time and resources?

This snippet is from the fabulous book on decision making – Decisive, Dan and Chip Heath