How did you develop your decision-making skills?

Decision making can be stressful and anxiety inducing, but the ability to make decisions quickly is often what separates the most effective leaders from others. We connected with some of the best and brightest do-ers we know and asked them how they developed their decision-making skills.

Mina Abdi

I consider all my options and then decide to do what seems to be the best choice at the time. I think if the decision turns out not be the best or not successful it’s ok because next time I will start with experience. Read more>>

Eryn Morgan

ecision making is wired into my DNA.

From an extremely young age, my parents (who were both teachers) encouraged me to get good at it. My most famous 4-year-old quote is, “Mommy, it’s hard to choose.”

But choose I have. My parents taught me how to work backwards to solve problems. By figuring out the end result or outcome I wanted, they’d help me strategically think through each step that was required to get me to my goal. Read more>>

Yi Sun

Decision-making has become easier for me. I usually make a choice as soon as I see my options and their corresponding outcomes, which are often researchable and predictable. However, years ago, I was notoriously known for being indecisive among my friends. Take, for example, choosing which college to attend. When I was 18, I was an art student from China, eager to study abroad to broaden my horizons while advancing my art career. I applied to many schools and received numerous offers. Read more>>

Sayre Crabtree

The skill of decision making is one that can only be strengthened through practice. The best thing you can do to be come a better decision maker is to learn to live and welcome the consequences that come with decision making. It can be easy to push the blame onto unforeseen circumstance or point fingers at the various other people involved, but it is only when you accept accountability for your decisions that you can learn from them, anticipate better for the next time, and remove anxiety from your life. Neuroscientists have proven the root cause of anxiety is the sensation of unknowing and the fear of choosing incorrectly. Read more>> 

Mariam Ohanyan

If you ask my parents, they’ll probably say I’ve been a tiny boss since birth – minus the skirt and the tie, of course. Decision-making has always been my thing, though I’ll admit, many of my early ‘executive choices’ were questionable. But hey, you’ve got to stumble through the wrong decisions to eventually land on the right ones! Running my own business has seriously leveled up my decision-making skills. Read more>>  

Mike C

I developed my decision making skills a bit late in life. By the time I got independent, I never had the skill to make decisions firmly. I was very weak at a point when I just decided to work hard. I kept on working three jobs sideways running a business. It took me six months to actually quit all those three jobs and decide to change my career from being an engineer to running a marketing agency. Read more>>

Talia Solomon

I’ve been able to establish very clear mental models that I can run decisions through. First run through consumer impact, 2nd ‘do no irreversible harm to the P&L”. These sound very simple, but always lead with the consumer as a marketer, when we fall out of favor with the consumer, its a lot harder to win them back, than to retain them and keep them happy. Read more>>

Peony Tattoo and cafe

Here at Peony we value collaboration and transparency in our decision-making process. We operate as a collective, meaning every team member’s voice is heard and considered. We discuss concerns openly, and decisions are made through mutual agreement, ensuring that the outcome reflects the best interests of everyone involved. Read more>>