In his book Effective Executive, Peter Drucker says that there are 5 elements or components in order to make effective decisions.
Drucker emphasizes that one should give special attention to this first step because if one classifies wrongly the situation he's dealing with the following steps won't be of much help.
- Define what type of Situation are you dealing with.
Drucker says that actually there are 4 types of situations one can encounter:
- First type are Generic Situations: These type of situations underlie many occurrences and Drucker insists that one should deal with them by developing a Rule, Solution , a Principle or Policy. After that similar instances of the same Generic Situation are to be dealt by Applying and/or Adapting the Solution, the Rule to the Specific Circumstances of the Case at hand.
- For example if you were to grow Apple trees you would develop some General Principles for growing Apples. Although there are many types of Apple trees same Principle are applicable to many of them;
- But too often many of us tend to act as if Each Apple Tree they encounter is a different species and try to develop a new Principles for dealing with it. All too often they end up having the Same principle that they already had for the previous Apple Trees.
- Second Type are Unique Situations: These are Situations that according to Drucker happen rarely. Yet they do happen. While for the previous, Generic Situations, we can develop general solutions, principles and rules to deal with them these type of situations are to be dealt as they come , one by one.
- Third type are Unfamiliar Situations: By that I mean that they are unfamiliar to you as an individual, because you encounter them for the first time. Yet they are in a way Generic Situations which other people have encountered and dealt with them may times before.
- In our age if you do some research you'll most likely find out if someone else has encountered the problem/situation you face and how they dealt with it.
- For example even thought the birth of a new baby is something new for you many people have dealt successfully with it in the past and developed procedures.
- Fourth type are Emergent Situations: By that I mean that one starts to notice the first manifestations of a new type / class of situations that requires the development of a new set of Solutions, Principles and Rules.
Take a look at the other Steps in Decision Making
In a previous post we talked about Mistakes in Decision Making. Have a look at them in order to avoid them.
