Transcriber: Vy Dinh Reviewer: Sebastian Betti
Have you ever made an emotional decision which you've regretted later?
I think we all have.
Our brain falls to this instinctual place for decision making.
Growing up, we all been told, follow your gut, trust your gut.
Unfortunately, what I’ve found, it doesn’t always work.
May I ask what's your opinion on this subject?
According to Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman,
never to trust your gut feeling unless you have enough relevant experience
in that area and a feedback mechanism in place to verify your results quickly.
This is what I've learned.
Our brain looks for patterns in situations which have emotions attached.
The very first response in the form of instinct or gut feeling
as a result of these patterns.
But this first response also restrict us not to look at options carefully.
It introduces a subconscious bias. And that doesn't stop there.
Even if you try to make decisions consciously,
there are a number of things that play.
There are a number of biases, your value systems and your belief systems.
Heightened emotions will further restrict us
not to look at options carefully
and a situation from a different perspective, what I’m trying to say,
be aware, we may not be making decisions which are aligned to our values and goals.
We must strive to make decisions with evidence.
Back in 2005, August 29th, when Hurricane Katrina reached New Orleans,
Brigadier General Matthew Broderick was heading
Homeland Security Operation Center,
was meant to report to President George W. Bush if any of the levees breach.
Despite 17 reports of levees breaching,
he trusted contrary reports from army cops on the ground.
Walked away that evening stating all levees are holding
and will review it in the morning.
By then, it was too late.
Higher number of casualties and property damage was also attributed to this error.
Question is, how come someone
who has led similar operation centers in hurricanes before made this error?
Analysts believe,
over time, he built his philosophy that early warning signs of hurricanes
are usually false unless confirmed by a reliable ground support.
I’m in software sales.
I provide technology data for my customers to make decisions.
And I watched them how they go about analyzing data.
It's common observation, usually their first instinct is their decision.
And all they do after that look for facts to support that decision.
Why am I bringing this up?
I am bringing this up because I feel poor decision making is an epidemic.
Logically, we all know decisions made with evidence are optimal,
but a majority of us, we fall back to this default system, which is flawed.
And there are consequences.
For which I’d like you to imagine this world
at the big casino floor where each one of us are players.
Gambling as we make decisions. Some will win. Some will lose.
Some will lose badly and for some will even lose their lives.
Strive to check on decisions with evidence.
I had this realization with one of my customers.
Despite all the evidence in front of him, he chose to follow his gut.
I could see he will not only spend three to four hundred thousand dollars
on buying hardware, will also spend four to five months of his time
and only to find out the problem is not solved.
I couldn’t help.
And I walked out of his office, I was so frustrated.
But the thought crossed my mind.
I’ve seen this time and again I’ve got to do something about this.
Other than that, I went into research.
I started with various different decision making models:
rational, bounded rational, spottled, and many others.
As a result, I came up with this framework that I call it GAMA.
I build this framework so that you don’t make those mistakes.
Before anyone applies GAMA,
it is very important we must analyze our emotions and any limiting beliefs,
acknowledge them, write them down.
And as for GAMA, G stands for goal.
The outcome you’re looking for, the trick to this step is,
make it measurable, and achievable.
A stands for analyze options.
This is about the factors you need to consider to achieve that goal.
If you don’t have enough experience in handling the situation?
Reach out to subject matter expert who's handled this before.
M stands for metric.
This is a mechanism to test the viability and success
of your golden options, make it time bound.
So you can pivot to the next option. On the final A, it’s action.
This is a step about the courage to implement decisions.
A lot of times I’ve observed people have worked out decisions
logically in their head, but hesitate to implement it.
In that situation, you will need an accountability partner
who will give you a nudge to take a leap of faith.
So far, I talked about not relying on default decision system,
check on evidence.
But there are complex situations, if not handled in time,
could have dire consequences,
and it is for these situations you need a decisive action,
which is aligned to your values and goals.
What I found, having clarity of your values
and goals helps you cut through any bias and limiting factors.
I've been stuck in my career for years.
At the start of this job, the first two years,
I got accolades, awards, recognition.
And then it flat lined. No growth, no promotion.
I attended training after training.
I learn skills after skills, but got nowhere.
I reached out to management, asking, what am I missing?
I didn't get any satisfactory answers. Became the whole focus of my life.
It was as if living in a bubble.
Scared.
When I applied GAMA, I spent a lot of time analyzing my emotions.
I found hope, I found fear, and I found many limiting beliefs.
Acknowledge them.
And then I jumped in my favorite chair, focusing on the goal, the outcome
I’m looking for my career.
It was about growth and security.
And it came down to three things which are tangible and measurable.
The very first one: Money.
I was looking for a certain amount of money
to secure the future of my family.
Second, it was about getting respect in the industry.
And third was being independent.
Being an independent, I had no idea how to go about and I found it risky,
so I parked it for next iteration.
And I focus on the first two.
Instead, I realized so far I’ve been chasing promotion.
But I really wanted is money and respect in the industry.
That gave me the clarity.
I quickly brought down the money component to a monthly figure,
and I found it doable.
I worked out the options of trying to achieve that.
Through my existing job, or look outside or maybe work with my partner.
For the respected industry, I had vague ideas. So I decided to seek a mentor.
These two became my decision point.
The figure became a metric. I timed bound them for 12 months.
If I don't get the money component and the guidance,
I will pivot to next option.
At the end of this exercise, I felt the fog in my head started to clear.
A gust of hope filled me.
I tasted freedom.
With the success I had, I started sharing GAMA with others.
And a path crossed with these two women, Susan and Melissa.
In a social setting, although I’ve changed their names to protect their identity,
both these women had similar backgrounds,
both of them left their marriages with kids in tow.
Well, overwhelmed with insecurities and had to start from scratch.
Both of them now have successful businesses.
For Melissa, her mother gave her the roof.
She was then living week by week.
Overwhelmed with financial burden. Limited support and many limiting beliefs.
It was as if the world was caving in on her.
For Susan, early on, she decided she would have to be diligent about decisions,
she makes that impact her future.
In Melissa’s case, her biggest fear was debt collectors showing at her door
having bad credit rating, limiting her future.
None of us had a background in finance.
She followed the suggestion to see a financial advisor
who gave a few numbers.
And she found them doable.
She is still following the number with discipline,
ensuring there’s always money there to pay her debts first.
Even if that means going for your night just on toasted sandwich,
she’s happy to do it.
This is how she claimed control on her life.
And for Susan, although she is quite methodical,
analytical, fact driven, always keeps our emotions in check.
Even she admitted,
she’s been stuck for the last five years, unable to expand our business.
Her biggest fear was losing the money she has and going to depend on her partner.
She's scared to take a business loan
and does not know how to bring others to work for her.
Two suggestions were made.
First, seek someone who could write a robust business plan.
With a specific ask for 12 month and 18 month decision points
so she can pull out and cut her losses.
Second was to seek a mentor who would guide her
on how to bring people into work for her.
At the end of our discussion, she was relieved.
I’ve seen so many people, including me,
who fell prey to this poor decision making and limiting beliefs.
And the works and the personal lives suffer.
We don't have to wait for a life changing event to make changes.
We can continue to do what we are doing, getting the results we are getting.
Or do something different.
I challenge you, try GAMA, give it a go.
I’m trying to build a society
with confidence in decision making, where people are encouraged
to seek clarity and make decisions which are aligned with the values and goals.
And above all, where people believe that during uncertain times,
they always have options.
This is possible with GAMA.
And this is the world I invite you to create with me.
Thank you.