Many people never consider that they might need to develop their problem solving skills. It is something that people commonly assume is either dealt with through natural ability or just not needed. But problem-solving skills can be learnt, developed and improved. Here are some ideas for starting out on the road to successfully developing your problem-solving personality. However, if your ultimate goal is to be able to make good decisions, there are some things that are more important than decision-making ability: intelligence and the ability to learn quickly.
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How People Make Decisions
There are many different ways of making decisions, and the decision-making process is rarely linear. This can be a strength as well as a weakness – for example, it allows for more creativity and design freedom, but at the same time it may result in an inability to reach a final decision in certain situations. One of the most common processes in business is decision making. We make decisions every day, sometimes without thinking about it. Business people use rational decision making to choose between alternatives for the best outcome for their company.
Some companies are more successful than others because their decision-making process makes better use of the information available. To make decisions, managers need to know how their employees think and what factors influence their decision making.
Since there are different ways to make decisions, a good manager tries to understand how his or her employees reach conclusions. For example, some people may be more analytical and deliberate, while others may be more intuitive and spontaneous in arriving at decisions. When we look at how people make decisions and solve problems, we find that there are two different approaches: rational and intuitive. To make an informed decision, you might use both methods.
People solve problems in different ways
People solve problems in different ways, and they also respond to problems in different ways. For example, some people avoid problems and resist solving them, while others take the initiative to identify a problem and fix it.
Because problem-solving personality types vary so much from person to person, effective teamwork is critical for any organization. Team members must be aware of the different approaches to problem-solving. This awareness can help team members anticipate what other team members may do in certain situations and how they will react to certain problems. By understanding these differences among team members, people are less likely to misunderstand each other or take offence at perceived insensitivity or laziness.
Within an organization, the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) by William J. Cook provides insight into how various personality types typically approach problem-solving and decision making. The PSI identifies five distinct styles: Analyzers, Clarifiers, Experimenters, Planners and Visualizers. These styles are not mutually exclusive; most people use more than one style in varying situations.
Why we make poor decisions
The subconscious mind is not an entity in itself, but a part of our mind that we are not aware of. It processes information in a different way from the conscious mind, and it has an incredible capacity to process information. If the subconscious mind is so powerful, then why do we often make poor decisions?
In the first place, it is important to understand the difference between conscious and subconscious minds. The conscious mind deals with logic, reasoning and analysis. It makes choices based on what you think about a situation. For example, if you have to decide where to go on holiday this year, you might start by thinking about what you want from your holiday – sunbathing or sightseeing for example. You might then think about where would be best for this – France or Italy say. And so on until you come up with your decision.
The subconscious mind on the other hand deals with things at a much deeper level. It processes information in a very different way and tends to make decisions based on how we feel about something rather than a rational analysis of it. For example, if you are in a meeting and someone asks you whether there is anything wrong, you may say “No” even though something is bothering you. This is because although your conscious mind may think it’s right but is not always right.
Having a clear process will improve your decision making
The human mind is a strange new frontier. Your brain makes you who you are. And it is the most complicated thing we have discovered in the universe. Your brain has about 100 billion neurons, each neuron connected to 10 thousand other neurons. Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe. The one way you can take control of your mind is through meditation. Meditation gives you better control over your brain so that you can use it more effectively every day.
The first step in decision making is identifying a problem. Having a clear process will improve your decision making and increase the quality of your decisions. This section focuses on identifying problems and developing options, which are essential for effective decision making.
Problems are often identified by the symptoms they produce. For example, a customer complains or an employee quits. These symptoms alert you to possible problems that need to be addressed. However, it’s important not to jump to conclusions, because the problem might not be what it seems.
When you identify a problem, define it clearly and completely. Think broadly about possible causes before deciding on a particular one as the cause of the problem. To solve a problem, you have to understand what caused it. You probably can’t solve it if you don’t know why it exists in the first place.
The two parts of Problem Solving
The problem is, there are two parts to decision making: the actual decision, and then living with it. A decision-maker can be terrific at the first part but awful at the second. And if you don’t factor in the second part when you’re making a decision, you’ll often end up making a terrible one.
To understand what I mean, consider the following question: Would you rather be a person who makes wise decisions but regrets them, or someone who makes foolish decisions and never regrets them? If you think about it for more than a minute, you realize that this is an impossible choice. The reason is simple: if you make foolish decisions, by definition you’ll regret them; and if you always regret your decisions, by definition they must have been foolish.
So we can change the question slightly: would you rather be a person who makes wise decisions but sometimes regrets them, or someone who makes foolish decisions but never regrets them? That’s still an impossible choice. The reason is equally simple: if your decisions are consistently unwise (that is, constantly wrong), then eventually any luck protecting you from your own folly will run out. Sooner or later your luck will turn and all those wrong decisions will catch up with you.
The role of Problem Solving in Decision Making
The role of personality in decision making is a very important one. It has been said that a person of good decisions makes for a good leader. A person who does not make good decisions is not a leader. A leader needs to be able to analyze the information that he or she has available and then make an informed decision on what to do with the information.
The first step in making a decision is to analyze the situation. You need to determine if there is any other way to solve the problem besides using your own judgement. If there are no other options, then you need to decide what your next course of action will be. The best thing that you can do is think about it and then decide on the best course of action.
The second step in making a decision is to formulate your own plan of action. This means that you need to take all of the information that you have gathered and come up with a plan that will work out best for you. You should also keep in mind that this plan of action needs to be something that is realistic for you and also something that can be done in a reasonable amount of time.