Making the right decisions in highly uncertain environments requires having clear goals, being realistic in assessing the situation and being careful not to deceive yourself, said IESE Prof. Miguel Ángel Ariño in a Continuous Education session held today in Shanghai.
Some 60 IESE graduates and friends gathered to hear Prof. Ariño's presentation, which highlighted 10 principles for making effective decisions.
It is very easy to "commit to a course of action, without questioning it," said Prof. Ariño in his remarks. Moreover, CEOs and managers often pay more attention to facts that support a preferred alternative than those that do not. This problem is magnified when leaders are surrounded by people who think the way they do, or do not voice contrasting opinions.
He urged managers to consider all the possible consequences of a decision and generate various alternatives to a preferred choice. Prof. Ariño also warned against paying attention to irrelevant information, such as that which could be biased or is based on opinion, rather than fact.
