How to Make Decisions Quickly Without Becoming a Buridan’s Donkey?

Key Takeaways:

• Chasing perfection is a fantasy; the key to seizing opportunities lies in making swift decisions, as timing is often fleeting.
• Analysis paralysis can result in missing valuable growth opportunities.
• Clearly defining and focusing on essential goals is crucial for success, helping to avoid distractions from secondary objectives.

Long ago, the French philosopher Buridan had a small donkey that he fed with a bundle of hay purchased daily from nearby villagers. The donkey always ate heartily. One day, the villagers brought two identical bundles of hay, perplexing the little donkey. Standing between the two, it hesitated, unable to decide where to start. In this state of indecision, the donkey ended up starving to death. Now, the term “Buridan’s Ass” is used to describe the phenomenon of indecision and the inability to make decisions.

In management, this phenomenon is also known as “Analysis Paralysis.” In the daily management of businesses, decision-makers often find themselves needing to make numerous choices. However, when faced with a multitude of options, many managers tend to overanalyze. Before making a decision, they attempt to dissect every possibility, fearing they might overlook a crucial detail and end up making the wrong choice. This analytical approach frequently leaves managers indecisive and bewildered, causing them to miss out on several opportunities for business development. Opportunities, more often than not, are fleeting. If the decision-making process takes too long, the opportunity may have already vanished.

So, how can we avoid becoming that donkey? Here are two tips to share with you:

1. Forget “Perfection”

We all aspire to do things perfectly, but in real life, perfection is non-existent. Most of the time, our decisions are based on the information available at that moment. Even if we make the most perfect decision, there’s no guarantee that things will unfold exactly as we envision. Benjamin Franklin once said, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Therefore, when we have a reasonable chance of success, we should make a decision without obsessing over perfection.

Even if, hypothetically, “perfection” exists, the cost of achieving it is usually very high, often exceeding the benefits. For example, consider a company contemplating a project. They estimate the project’s cost at $3,000, with potential earnings of $10,000 and an 80% success rate. If the company could invest an additional $8,000, the success rate would reach 100%. As the decision-maker, would you invest the extra amount?

Most people would choose not to invest the additional amount. After all, with the added $8,000, the project’s cost becomes $11,000. Deducting the $10,000 earnings, the project incurs a loss of $1,000. Few would engage in such a losing deal. In this case, investing $3,000 is the wiser choice.

2. Identify Important Goals

Warren Buffett had a private pilot named Mike Flint, who served him for over 10 years. Although highly skilled, Flint felt he could achieve more in his career and sought advice from Buffett.

Buffett agreed and asked Flint to list the 25 most important goals in his professional life. Flint took some time to compile the list.

Then, Buffett told Flint to pick the top 5 from the list. Flint did so.

Finally, Buffett asked Flint if he now knew what to do. Flint replied, “Well, the top 5 are my primary focus, but the other 20 come in a close second. They are still important, so I’ll work on those intermittently as I see fit. They are not as urgent, but I still plan to give them a dedicated effort.”

Buffett replied, “No. You’ve got it wrong, Mike. Everything you didn’t circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top 5.”

When I first heard this story, I couldn’t understand Buffett’s advice. I thought spending leisure time on personal pursuits wasn’t a problem, as it wouldn’t interfere with the time allocated for those five important things. But later, I realized that human energy is extremely limited every day. Even if you use “spare” time to do unimportant things, after completing them, you’ll find you have no spare energy left for the more critical tasks. In other words, even if the energy spent on secondary goals is “extra,” the behavior will significantly impact the achievement of primary goals.

Therefore, Buffett’s real purpose was not only to help Flint find the top 5 goals but also to identify the 20 secondary goals that could hinder him from achieving those five. Once identified, Flint needed to do everything possible to avoid expending any energy on those 20 goals.

In conclusion, to make decisions quickly without becoming Buridan’s donkey, first, forget about “perfection” because it doesn’t exist. When we have reasonable confidence in a decision, we should implement it immediately. Often, opportunities do not wait. If missed, they may be lost forever. Second, once we identify important goals, we should exert all efforts to achieve them. For unimportant goals, we should avoid them like a plague.

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Published Date: March 06, 2024

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