For many people, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented some tricky decisions. Is it time for that tree change? A career change? Should I be upskilling? Moving closer to family? What about my team – what decisions can I make as a manager to support them through this period of immense change?

Dr Roger Moser, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management, knows all about tricky decisions. He is among the academics working in a new discipline called Decision Intelligence – bringing together applied data science, social science, and managerial science into a unified field that helps people use data to improve their lives, their businesses, and the world around them.

Dr Moser will be explaining how he developed his ‘Decision Intelligence Navigator’ (DIN) to support leaders through decision-making challenges at a special webinar on 27 October: Making Better Decisions Using a Strategic Mindset.

Here Dr Moser takes us through the four DIN steps and how you can apply Decision Intelligence to any of the big questions you might be stewing over.

Step #1: Create your DECISION CONTEXT
The first step of the DIN is to clarify which decision(s) you need to make and carefully list all questions you need to get answered to make these decisions. A free mind-mapping software tool can help you structure your decision context into big and small decisions and list all questions to be answered.

This sounds probably like an obvious thing to do but ask yourself how much time you normally spend on this first step in a structured way, even if your decisions really matter. I often quote Albert Einstein who once said: “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

Step #2: Select the most suitable FRAMEWORKS
Next, select those analysis frameworks most suitable to find the answers to the questions listed in step #1. We call this Framework Proficiency and it comes down to your cognitive diversity – your ability to drawn from a multitude of mental models. For many difficult decision challenges in life, I rely on https://fs.blog/mental-models/ to get inspired.

 Step #3: Make sure you have the necessary INTELLIGENCE ACCESS
This third step is probably the most challenging one to implement. You need to fill your selected frameworks with intelligence (i.e. data, information, knowledge, insights). Companies are investing heavily into big data and advanced analytics but according to my experience, many important decisions rather depend on the opinions of a couple of experts. That’s why I have invested in an expert panel software which I am happy to provide access to in case you need to get inputs from more than 20 experts.

Step #4: Turn insights into action – Improve your DECISION PROFICIENCY
While steps #1 to #3 have helped you to turn data and information into insights (i.e. decision-relevant knowledge), the fourth step ensures that you don’t turn a blind eye on the biases which you as an individual or your company suffers from. This is now the time where real cognitive diversity through your rich personal experiences or through access to wise people in your personal network pays off. If you want to update yourself on what to watch out for take a look at www.yourbias.is

If you follow these four steps in our Decision Intelligence Navigator, you can be confident that any decision you make is at least based on a sound analysis. So, please keep in mind that there is no substitute for you taking time to just think and reflect whether you truly focus on the right decisions and questions ahead of you.

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Register for Dr Moser’s 27 October webinar Making Better Decisions Using a Strategic Mindset.