[Note: This newsletter includes a 20 second algorithmically generated audio intro using samples of my voice. I’m exploring a computer podcast. Let me know what you think.]
As a product manager, you’re constantly making decisions. Decision fatigue can become a real problem after a busy day. To combat this, you need to use a standard decision-making process. Let me show you how with simple steps.
What is a decision-making process?
Decision-making process is the steps taken to reach a conclusion. The general stages are: identify the problem, gather information, consider options, and decide.
Why adopt a decision-making process?
A good process improves your chance of consistently, making better decisions.
How to use a decision-making process?
Categorize your decisions/problems using the “The Eisenhower Method” based on urgency (speed to decision) vs. importance (value of decision).
Let the fates decide for “Not Urgent and Not Important” tasks. Use a coin toss. This may sound crazy, but remember, these are unimportant and non-urgent decisions. The harm from the wrong choice is very low. By using a randomizer, you reduce decision fatigue. It’s also a bit fun. As someone wired to optimize, the hardest step in adopting this technique is trying it out. So, I recommend trying this on your next small, unimportant decision (e.g., choosing between two equally good headlines, deciding whether to invite someone to a meeting). Rather than delay or over analyze the decision, assign it to a coin flip.
Allocate a set time for “Urgent and Not Important” tasks. Setting a finite time prevents you from becoming bogged down when there are more important decisions. If you can’t decide by the end of the time, re-evaluate the problem’s urgency and importance. Rarely do issues or decisions stay in this category for long because of the “urgency” factor.
Use the SPADE decision-making process for “Not Urgent and Important”. This is a model created by Gokul Rajaram, PM @ Google. It’s best for creating, documenting, and communicating decisions collaboratively, but also avoiding decision-by-committee. I’ll cover in detail below with a template.
Act! Then define a standard process for “Urgent and Important”. Unfortunately, there is no playbook for the truly urgent and important because there’s too much variance. My advice is to stop the “bleeding” to buy yourself time to think and move the task to “Not Urgent and Important”. After the crisis is averted, you should define a standard process for handling future occurrences. This is why people recommend emergency preparedness drills. You want the urgent and important decisions to run on autopilot using pre-defined decision points.
Using SPADE Decision Making Process
Define the decision you have to make and timeframe for the decision.
Decision: What is the decision/problem you have to solve?
Time: When must the decision be made?
Identify the people involved.
Consult: Individuals to solicit input on options. You should consider both individuals in positions of authority (e.g., leads, managers, head of XYZ) and people that will have to implement any decision. These individuals will also help evaluate options (positive, negatives). It’s important to make people feel heard when talking to consults.
Decider: This is the person who is responsible for making the decision. Usually, it’s one person and the person running the decision-making process. However, it can also be more than one individual only if there's an agreed upon process for how to settle disagreements between deciders. You don’t want to have this be unsettled. Finally, the decider is responsible for explaining and communicating the decision.
Overseer: This is a single person who is the Decider’s “check-&-balance”. The Overseer has the a special power: the void. The Overseer can void a decision if he or she believes the decision-making process was poor (e.g., didn’t consult enough individuals, didn’t consider an option). . This void doesn’t allow the Overseer to become the Decider and pick a different option. That’s why it’s the Overseer’s responsibility to help the Decider identify consults and review the “why” to the Decider’s decision.
Explore options.
Talk to your consults. Solicit options and “pro/con” for each option. You can do this during 1:1 meetings or as a group.
Document the options. Write it all down. It’ll help with thinking but also broader communication.
Decide. As odd as it is to write this, you have to decide. Often, I’ve seen some people procrastinate over a decision or get too busy doing something else. Even if your decision is to delay the decision, decide that and explain why. Explain how much more time you need or what additional information you will seek to make the decision.
Explain to everyone and get “disagree and commit”.
Explain how you arrived at your decision. You have to have convection so explain what you believe.
Acknowledge everyone’s help, especially the consults who helped you identify alternative options. Then, ask for everyone’s commitment to the decision because the discussion and evaluation phase is over. It’s important to get everyone, even the folks who still disagree by committing to work together to execute the decision. Ask people to verbally acknowledge commitment by going around. It will feel awkward if you or other people have never said “I disagree with your decision, but commit to supporting you.” That’s okay.
Review and send our your SPADE template. You need to communicate the decision to people across the company. A completed SPADE template should be clear enough that someone else can read it and understand with you speaking. So, use it to communicate your decision.
SPADE decision-making template | SPADE decision-making example
Principles to good decision-making
Be in touch with your emotions. We like to think we’re logical, but psychology demonstrates we’re lazy mentally and our emotional mind drives a lot of our actions. Thus, consider your emotional state when making a decision. Are you angry, sad, distraught, etc.? Your emotions will influence how you are interpreting information and your decisions. So, consider your emotional state and if it’s the right time to make a decision.
Don’t overwhelm yourself with a ton of decisions. I argue that the average person has about 2 - 4 hours of good energy when optimal for making decisions. After a busy day, making those same decisions at 8 pm at night isn’t ideal. Like “being in touch with your emotions”, be aware of how many decisions you’ve had to make in one day.
If you have to make a decision when emotional or tired, eat something sweet. Research shows glucose is used when we have to think and make decisions. So, if you are tired but you have to still make decisions (i.e., do work), don’t just drink coffee. Eat something light and sweet. The energy will help give you a short boost in your decision-making abilities. Eating will also be a short break before you get back to work.
Develop a good habit to avoid using the decision-making process. Good habits do two things. It reduces the need for you to think, saving your mental energy for when it’s needed. It also ensures good reproducible and positive outcomes. This is why airlines use checklists or businesses have standard operating procedures. When you don’t have to think and the outcome is guaranteed to be good, that’s a good thing.
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Overwhelmed by product decisions? Use a decision-making process to make and communicate better decisions.