Get Better Decision-Making With The I-Wish-I-Knew Tool

The first step of making any sort of good decision is to ask ourselves one straightforward but extremely powerful question: What do I wish I knew to make the best decision possible? IWIK, as we’ll henceforth refer to the formula “I wish I knew,” has a particular goal: to identify the core fundamental issue that needs to be solved. IWIK accelerates your team’s thinking to establish awareness of what you know and what knowledge is necessary to make an informed decision. By focusing on what matters, IWIK speeds up the decision-making process.

Agile decision-making is grounded in how you think, not how hard you work. Either through repetition or observation, we have all developed habits that undermine our ability to solve a problem. We jump into solution mode, accepting what is asked of us at face value, often confusing activity with impact. In our rush toward a solution, we neglect to frame the problem. We need to understand this crucial insight: The quality of your decision is directly proportional to the effort invested in framing the problem. The frame enables you to narrow what you need to solve.

IWIK is a tool—a thinking technique, if you will—that’s designed to help you frame the problem. It clarifies priorities, uncovers the essential information needed, quickly identifies knowledge gaps, defines assumptions, and reveals biases that might threaten to influence, slow, or shape a decision. So how does it work? Let’s assume you work at a large company and are challenged to grow your
Read the original article from ChiefExecutive.net