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| Making choices ... A simple process in life ? |
Have you often had to make choices in your life ? Personal ? Professional ? I guess so.
Lots of people have come to me to seek advice on both fronts, personal and professional, not necessarily on "which option to choose" but rather on the "how to make a choice"...
My job as a strategy consultant is indeed to help CEO's making the right choices, the right decision e.g. whether or not to acquire a business in China / whether or not to merge Marketing and Digital functions / whether or not to sell a low-performing brand / whether or not to invest in a new factory in Africa ...
So... do we know "miracle recipes" on the difficult challenge of making the right choice ?
Very often one jumps at a "process", with the belief that a mechanism can solve the issue and lead to the right choice. The best process is clearly the following :
- Identify the decision to be made, practically and precisely (the more specific the better).
- List the possible options and formulate them concisely.
- Gather necessary information, facts and figures, quantitative and qualitative.
- Evaluate the pros and cons of each option, using the above information.
- Anticipate the probable outcomes of each option, and assess them too.
- Observe the direction of your will, whilst evaluating the options (step often omitted)
- Talk to trusted people and seek external advice, opinion.
- Make your choice.
But this simple straightforward methodology lacks essential components, which I need to add to my decision making process, before coming to the right choice.
EMOTIONS : Sometimes, emotions can be in turmoil when considering a decision, when evaluating options... We can experience a wide range of feelings: Negative such as fear, confusion, anger, anxiety, stress, sadness... or Positive such as hope, peace, trust, love, joy, calm... Making choices in these circumstances requires to observe and interpret these emotions. We must discern the meaning of these feelings, and discover how they point to the right choice. Decision making involves the heart.
WORK : By no means making a choice is simple and therefore it requires work and commitment. One must be really engaged to achieve self awareness, to gather all information (not partial), to carefully evaluate the options and to envisage likely outcomes... Decision making involves the mind.
FREEDOM : Achieving the right choice emphasizes the notion of freedom. This means that a good choice requires to set aside pre-conceived opinions, personal and society bias, own preferences, social pressures, psychological strains etc... This is clearly difficult as the necessary detachment is not easy. This is where spirituality becomes an important ingredient in the discernment of choice. As Saint Ignatius points out in his Spiritual Exercises, achieving detachment in order to make a free choice can be found in prayer and spiritual life, and the feeling of consolation and peace is clearly one sign of God. Decision making involves the soul.
Now what...
You will tell me, as often in the hundreds messages I receive from this blog, that you don't know HOW to do... For instance, how to run this 8-step process, how to manage your emotions, how to find time to work out your choice, how to measure freedom and how to reach the peace of mind, heart and soul...
OK - let me share here a personal tip, which I truly recommend, but which is not the only way : Whenever I need to make decisions, confronted to a difficult choice or not, and at least avery 3 months, I go to a personal retreat, hidden in the powerful silence of the Monastery of Saint-Wandrille in Normandy. This place is a Benedictine Monastery founded in the 7th century, where the silence, the work, the meditation, the gregorian chant, the rule, the daily routine really help to find time and energy for your mind, your heart and your soul.
Be inspired... and make the right choice !
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| The Power of Silence ... |
