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The Search For Solutions
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The search for solutions is the fifth step in the decision making process. We are going to continue here first with some more excerpts from the book The Art of DECISION MAKING: 7 Steps to Achieving More Effective Results, by John D. Arnold...
"If that sounds like common sense, it is. But it is more than that. Very often we consider only two Alternatives: Is she right or am I? Should I keep my present job or take the new one I've been offered? Often too we choose our Alternative before we've set our Criteria; in this case we arbitrarily restrict our choices and increase the likelihood of making a bad decision. If, instead, we let our Criteria generate our Alternatives, we give ourselves a wider range of possibilities to choose from. We thus increase the likelihood of finding the Solution that best meets our needs" (74).
"By letting our Criteria determine our Alternatives, we can look beyond the obvious choices and fashion fresh Solutions, taking the best features of several Alternatives and combining or modifying them to fit our Criteria. That is what I call innovative decision making, and it is the lesson to which we now turn" (75).
Let's take an example. Let's say you are trying to find the best office space for your business. Here is the way you might proceed:
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CRITERIA |
ALTERNATIV A |
ALTERNATIV B |
ALTERNATIV C |
ALTERNATIV D |
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ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENTS |
CROWN AND MONTWD |
AVE. B AND JONES |
HALPERN AND SMITHSON |
JUDD AND MT. RED |
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-No further than 20 minutes from John’s house -Maximum $16,000 lease -Minimum 1,850 sq. feet space -Occupancy by December 31 |
No
Yes Yes No |
No
No Yes No |
Yes
Yes Yes No |
Yes
No Yes Yes |
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DESIRABLE OBJECTIVES |
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10 min. travel time to all homes 10 attractive office décor |
Yes No |
No Yes |
No No |
Yes Yes |
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9 Max. sq. Ft. 9 Min. rental cost |
Yes No |
No Yes |
Yes Yes |
Yes Yes |
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8 Two yr. Lease 8 Same comfort |
No Yes |
Yes No |
No Yes |
Yes Yes |
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8 Quiet 8 Office privacy |
Yes No |
No Yes |
Yes No |
No Yes |
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6 same phone no. 5 excel. mail svc |
Yes No |
No Yes |
No No |
Yes Yes |
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5 super landlord 5 better phone svc |
No Yes |
Yes No |
No Yes |
No Yes |
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4 attractive bldg 4 bldg easy locate |
Yes No |
No Yes |
Yes No |
No Yes |
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3 occupy soon |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
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1 close to eat out |
yes |
yes |
yes |
Yes |
"Let's review the lessons of this chapter. Let your Criteria generate your Alternatives, not vice versa. It was only after Helen had put the committee through the achieve/preserve/avoid exercise that members forgot their pet Solutions and began seeking common ground. Widen your circle of Alternatives by taking each Criterion in turn and asking, "What are the possible ways of fulfilling (achieving, preserving, avoiding) this one? How else can it be done?
"Explore all the options that flow from your Criteria, no matter how unpalatable they may first appear. Don't be concerned if some of them have never been tried before - like having beer at a church site. Don't prejudge them. Let the Criteria judge them.
"Seek ways of overcoming the weaknesses and combining the strengths of your possible Solutions to formulate an even better one.
"Remember, in most situations you need not be bound by the obvious or stated choices. There are usually other options waiting to be discovered" (83).
