I consider myself fortunate to be an engineer. My engineering experience has taught me some pretty effective lessons in problem solving and decision making. Most of my engineering decisions in my professional life have been motivated by trying to solve problems (either design or people’s problems). As much as we would like to believe that we do not have any prejudices or biases, the fact is we all do. These prejudices stem from the “ladder of inference” that I have mentioned in previous posts. The more aware you are of your own ladder of inference, the better off you will be, and the better decisions you will make.
Making mistakes has caused me to become frustrated and even discouraged at times. But I have found that if I take time to collect my own information, instead of relying totally on others, I am better placed to form my thoughts around a more thorough analysis and this makes me more likely to choose an alternative that is best. There are some common decision making mistakes that I have experienced and read about.
Relying on "experts". Often, people place too much emphasis on what "experts" say. Remember, experts are only human and have their own set of biases and prejudices just like the rest of us. By seeking information from many sources, you will get much better information than you would if you gathered it from only one source.
Overestimating the value of information received from others. We will be biased in our thinking if we assume someone knows more than we do. Ask yourself: Do they have better information than I do? What is their experience? Does it match mine? Are their values the same as mine? In other words, keep their opinions in perspective.
Underestimating the value of information received from others. Just the opposite of the above, we can devalue information from those we have less respect for. It can be difficult when people may use entirely different values and perceptions in their answers to your questions. Ask yourself why you might be discounting the information you receive from anyone.
Filtering. Collecting, and registering only data in relation to what you want the answer to be. If we have expectations or biases that we are not aware of, we tend to see what we want to see. The key is to be aware of your own ladder of inference while at the same time staying open to everything that comes into focus.
Not accepting your "gut instincts". If your heart or your gut say "this is wrong", you should listen. Our subconscious tries to send us messages all of the time for situations like this. It provides clues to the answer through feelings or gut reactions. Tune into your intuition, and consider it as one more piece of data. You will find that you will make much better decisions in the long run.
