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How to make faster decisions | The Way We Work, a TED series - YouTube
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Transcriber: TED Translators admin
[12]
You're probably familiar with FOMO.
[14]
[This guy invented the term]
[15]
That's short for "Fear Of Missing Out."
[17]
It's that feeling you get
[18]
when it seems everyone else
is doing something better
[21]
than what you're doing now.
[22]
But there's another FO
you need to know about,
[25]
and it's far more dangerous.
[26]
It's called FOBO,
[27]
and it's short for "Fear
Of a Better Option."
[30]
[The Way We Work]
[34]
We live in a world of overwhelming choice.
[37]
Even decisions that used to be simple,
[39]
like choosing a restaurant
or making everyday purchases,
[42]
are now fraught with overanalysis.
[44]
Technology has only made
the issue more pronounced.
[46]
If you want to buy a pair
of white shoelaces online,
[49]
you have to sort
through thousands of items
[51]
and read through hundreds of reviews.
[53]
That's an astounding amount
of information to process
[55]
to just buy two pieces of string
that cost less than your morning latte.
[59]
Chances are you've experienced
FOBO when you've struggled
[62]
to choose just one from a group
of perfectly acceptable outcomes.
[65]
It's a symptom
of a culture which sees value
[67]
in collecting and preserving
as many options as possible.
[70]
You might wonder
why all of this is so bad.
[72]
It seems counterintuitive.
[73]
Shouldn't it be a privilege
to have so many good options
[76]
to choose from?
[77]
The problem is, FOBO induces
such severe analysis paralysis
[80]
that it can negatively impact
both your personal and professional life.
[84]
When you can't make
decisions with conviction,
[86]
you waste precious time and energy.
[88]
Luckily, there is a way to overcome FOBO.
[90]
Here's a secret.
[91]
With any decision you make,
you first have to determine the stakes,
[94]
as this will inform
your decision-making strategy.
[97]
When it comes down to it,
[98]
you only really face three
types of decisions in life:
[100]
high stakes, low stakes and no stakes.
[103]
Let's start with no-stakes decisions.
[105]
These are the minor details of life,
[107]
where there is almost
never an incorrect answer,
[109]
and in a few hours,
you won't even remember
[111]
making the decision.
[112]
A good example of this is
choosing what to watch on TV.
[115]
With thousands of shows,
it's easy to get overwhelmed,
[118]
yet no matter what you pick,
[119]
the consequences
are basically nonexistent.
[122]
So spending more
than a few moments on FOBO
[124]
is a massive waste of energy.
[126]
You just need to move on.
[127]
When it comes to no-stakes decisions,
[129]
the key is to outsource them
to the universe.
[132]
For example, you can whittle down
your choices to just two
[135]
and then flip a coin.
[136]
Or try my personal
favorite -- ask the watch.
[139]
Assign each one of your choices
to one half of your watch,
[141]
then let the second hand tell you
what you're going to do.
[145]
Looks like I'll be having the fish.
[146]
That brings us to low-stakes decisions.
[148]
These have consequences,
but none are earth-shattering,
[151]
and there are plenty
of acceptable outcomes.
[154]
Many routine things at work,
like purchasing a printer,
[157]
booking a hotel or choosing
between possible venues for an off-site
[160]
are classically low-stakes in nature.
[162]
Some thinking is required,
[164]
but these aren't
make-or-break deliberations,
[166]
and you'll probably forget
about them in a few weeks.
[169]
Here, you can also
outsource decision-making,
[171]
but you want some critical
thinking involved,
[173]
as there are some stakes.
[175]
This time, you'll outsource to a person.
[177]
Set some basic criteria,
[178]
select someone to present
a recommendation,
[180]
and then take their advice.
[181]
Make sure to avoid
the temptation to canvass.
[184]
Your goal is to clear your plate,
[185]
not to kick the can down the road.
[187]
Now that you tackled low-stakes
and no-stakes decisions,
[190]
you've created the space
and time you'll need
[192]
to handle high-stakes decisions.
[194]
These are things like
"which house should I buy"
[196]
or "which job should I accept."
[197]
Since the stakes are high
and there are long-term implications,
[200]
you absolutely want to get it right.
[202]
Before we get to work,
let's establish a few basic principles
[205]
to guide you through the process.
[207]
First, think about
what really matters to you,
[209]
and set your criteria accordingly.
[211]
Second, gather the relevant facts.
[213]
Make sure you collect data
about all of the options,
[215]
so you can be confident
[216]
that you're truly making
an informed decision.
[219]
And third, remember that FOBO, by nature,
[221]
comes when you struggle to choose just one
[223]
from a group of perfectly
acceptable options.
[225]
So no matter what you choose,
[227]
you can rest assured
that the downside is limited.
[230]
Now that you've established
some ground rules,
[232]
the process can begin.
[233]
Start by identifying a front-runner
based on your intuition,
[236]
then compare each of
your options head-to-head
[238]
with the front-runner, one-by-one.
[240]
Each time, choose the better of the two
based on the criteria,
[243]
and discard the other one.
[245]
Here's the trick to avoiding FOBO.
[247]
When you eliminate
an option, it's gone forever.
[249]
If you keep returning
to discarded options,
[251]
you risk getting stuck.
[253]
Now repeat this process
until you get down to one final choice.
[256]
If you follow this system,
[258]
you will usually end up
with a decision on your own.
[260]
On the rare occasion that you get stuck,
[262]
you will outsource the final decision
[264]
to a small group of qualified
people who you trust
[267]
and who are equipped
to provide you with guidance
[269]
on this particular topic.
[270]
Engage a group of five or less,
ideally an odd number of people
[273]
so that you have a built-in
tiebreaker if you need it.
[276]
Now that you've made your choice,
one last challenge remains.
[279]
You have to commit.
[280]
I can't promise you that you'll ever truly
know if you've made the perfect decision,
[284]
but I can tell you this:
[285]
a significant percentage
of people in the world
[288]
will never have to worry about FOBO.
[290]
Unlike the billions of people
who have few options, if any,
[293]
due to war, poverty or illness,
[295]
you have plentiful opportunities
to live decisively.
[298]
You may not get everything you want,
[300]
but the mere fact
you get to decide is powerful.
[303]
In fact, it's a gift.
[305]
Make the most of it.
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