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Some
decisions are very complex, lots of options and factors
like which phone service plan really fits our needs
best. Other decisions carry the weight of our own future
and will have dramatic consequences like which college
to attend or field to study. Then other decisions affect
the lives and wellness of others around us like which
employee insurance programs will best suit the needs
and perceived needs of employees. None of these should
be taken lightly, we suggest you use the decidometer
to balance the facts and help you make more informed decisions.
We know that decisions can be challenging. My name is
Jonny Shaw and several years ago I created a paper based
system for analyzing and taking account of different
options available when making decisions. Recently I had
the good fortune to meet Eric Kestersen with whom my
combination of website design skills and his back end
programming experience we were able to build a functioning
online version of the decidometer.
I called my paper system the "decidometer" ("ometer" is
pronounce like "speedometer") as it involves
charting all of the available options and properties
one accounts for when making complex decisions and putting
a number (or metric) on the best options to suit perceived
needs.
When you complete the 3 step process,
the decidometer will indicate the best possible option
to meet the balance of properties you seek. Sometimes,
of course a gut feeling may override the numerical suggestion,
but at least you'll have an ability to see which option
appears to be the logical choice.
The way I built the paper based system is by first documenting
all of my options, then all of the properties I'd like
to see addressed by each option, next I evaluate the
properties in terms of which are the most important,
next most important and so on, then I judge each option
to see which one best handles each property. By grading
each option based on each property each option gets a
number. Using an inverse math formula it becomes easy
to see which option has the highest score and is therefore
the best logical choice!
One example could be decising between different available
cameras when making a purchase. You may have found several
in or near your price range each with different strengths
and weaknesses. While one may take better pictures in
low light, it may not have a good a zoom ability as another,
and yet another may have better color accuracy. The different
cameras are your options, and the traits that each camera
can be judged upon are properties.
This system can be applied to nearly any type of decision.
Wether buying a house, choosing a spouse, renting a car
or selecting a bar, a school or some other tool, who
to fire or who to hire, don't decide until you do the
math! To help you with your decision use the decidometer
so that you'll know why you decided as you did. This
online form makes it as easy as
1, 2 & 3 to turn even the most complicated decision
into a set of simple facts that will gude you to the
most logical outcome.
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