3/10/2010

Five Modes of Decision Making

The Four Components of Decision-Making
There are four components to decision-making: data gathering, information processing, meaning-making, and decision-making, or deciding on a course of action...

The Five Modes of Decision-Making
There are five modes of decision-making. The difference between each mode of decision-making is the amount of emphasis that is given to each of the four components of decision-making. The five modes of decision-making are based on instincts, subconscious beliefs, conscious beliefs, values, and intuition.

Instinct-Based Decision-Making
...The main features of instinct-based decision-making are: a) actions always precede thought – there is no pause between meaning-making and decision-making for reflection, b) the decisions that are made are always based on... instructions... encoded in... our DNA... and c) we are not in control of our actions and behaviours. They are in control of us.

Subconscious Belief-Based Decision-Making
In subconscious belief-based decision-making, we also react to what is happening in our world without reflection but on the basis of personal memories rather than cellular (DNA) memories... the behaviours we are displaying are based on deeply held beliefs...

Conscious Belief-Based Decision-Making
...In conscious belief-based decision-making we have time to think about what decision to make, and we have time to discuss with others and build consensus. However, conscious belief-based decision-making has one thing in common with subconscious belief-based decision-making: it uses information based on past experiences (what we think we know) to make decisions about the future. It creates a future very much like the past. At the best, the future we create is only incrementally different...

Values-Based Decision-Making
If we truly want to create the future we want to experience, we have to shift from conscious belief-based decision-making to values-based decision-making... all critical decisions need to pass the values test...The question we need to ask when making a decision is “Is this decision rational and is it in alignment with our values?” If it isn’t ... think again... When we hold a vision, we consciously make decisions that keep us heading in that direction. When we have a mission, we consciously make decisions that support the attainment of that mission. In every case we are making decisions that help us consciously create the future we want to experience...

Intuition-Based Decision-Making...

Read more in this post from BigBrain.com