Wise Decision Maker Guide 11

Have you heard the popular piece of advice that "failing to plan is planning to fail"?

Lots of people give that advice. They have the best intentions, because they want to ensure that others don’t run into the problems that result from lacking a plan.

Unfortunately, that advice is dangerous. Making plans is important, but our gut reaction is to plan for the best-case outcomes, ignoring the high likelihood that things will go wrong.

When was the last time you saw a major plan go over time or over budget? It happens more often than you might think.

For instance, a 2002 study of major construction projects found that 86% went over budget. In turn, a 2014 study of large IT projects found that only 16.2% succeeded in meeting the original planned resource expenditure. Of the 83.8% of projects that did not, the average IT project suffered from a cost overrun of 189%.

What explains our tendency to make plans and then go over time or over budget? This is largely due to the planning fallacy, our intuitive belief that everything will go according to plan.

This is why a much better piece of advice is "failing to plan for problems is planning to fail." To address the very high likelihood that problems will crop up, you need to plan for contingencies. Such planning involves anticipating what problems might come up and addressing them in advance. Start by using the research-based technique of prospective hindsight and envision yourself in the future looking back at problems that could have been prevented in advance. It’s also important to recognize that you can’t anticipate all problems and to build in a buffer of additional time and money. If things go better than anticipated, you can always use the money for a different purpose later.

But how do you actually go about doing so? I share my tips in this blog:

It doesn’t matter if you have been a business owner for decades or just recently becoming one this book is an absolute MUST purchase. Not only reading this book but applying the material will help manage the biases that are in your business that you may not even know are a problem. Over the last 12 years I felt in my gut I was always making the right decisions and although minor, I realize I have some work to do to make sure they do not become disasters in the future. Dr. Gleb’s book is very easy to follow and understand how to move along with the future of diversity in the workplace.

Help Me Serve Your Needs

What’s your approach to planning? How often do your plan go over time or budget? Do you think the methods in the article/video/audio content above can help you address the planning fallacy?

Let me know your thoughts and feelings, as my goal is to help you make the wisest and most profitable decisions, and your feedback is invaluable for understanding where I’m doing well and where I can improve. Thank you!

P.S. Got your copy of Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters? Don’t forget the digital bonuses you get for ordering! Just fill out this form, and you will get 1) free digital copy of my Assessment on Dangerous Judgment Errors in the Workplace; 2) A decision aid business card or poster of 5 Key Questions to Avoid Decisions Disasters that you can get printed and keep in your wallet, on your desk, and give to members of your team; and 3) A decision aid poster for you to print out for your work or home office and for your team to print out for the Eight-Step Decision-Making Model on Making the Best Decisions

Decisively Yours,

Gleb

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