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Decision making is the lifeline of every business, every business decision you make can either contribute to the growth of your business or in wrecking your business. Because of the strong potential of this act, it becomes important to carefully consider all factors before proceeding. Every human being would have been the best version of themselves if they could make the best decisions in all their doings in life. But the reverse is mostly the case because our decisions are most influenced by cognitive biases. This beclouds our reasoning and causes us to make decisions which in some cases might be to our own detriment. In this article we will be looking at the psychology of decision making and exploring the common cognitive biases that are present in business and how to mitigate their effect. 

We will be citing Grant Kelley as an example in this article, because he has made a name for himself as a visionary and creative leader renowned for his relentless commitment to success. He is the Chairman of Holdfast Assets, a role he has held since September of 2008, which manages and owns key agricultural, sporting and tourism assets in South Australia. This shows that he has had to make life-changing decisions at different point in his life, and that is where we will be drawing insights from. 

The Influence of Cognitive Biases

Cognitive biases are the flaws in our human reasoning that can affect our decision-making process. These biases include confirmation bias, anchoring bias and overconfidence bias. Each of this bias affects decision making in their own way. Take overconfidence bias for example, this bias distorts the decision-making process by causing you to overestimate your abilities and neglect the facts present before you. A good understanding of the working principle of each of these biases enables us to approach decision making with more reliance in objective accuracy than subjective accuracy.

The Halo Effect

This occurs when we allow our overall impression of a person or Company to influence our decision making. Just because you think a particular person is fit for a role from the way he dresses, is not enough reason to give such a person the role. This bias often leads to biased evaluations and neglection of potential weaknesses.  There should always be room for carrying out personal research and seeking diverse perspectives, to make more informed decisions. 

Overcoming Cognitive Biases

Recognizing and understanding cognitive biases is the first step towards overcoming them. More important approaches include promoting a culture of open-mindedness, carrying out extensive research before making decisions in your business, giving room for the input of more experienced people in your business, requesting for feedback from customers and above all, engaging in critical thinking and analysis. By doing these things, you will slowly learn to lean more on objective accuracy of your judgements, than the subjective accuracy. 

Conclusion

Cognitive biases greatly influence our decision making process, and can have diverse effects on our businesses, depending on how well we manage it. A good step is to first understand each of these biases, their Impact and above all, how it can be managed efficiently. Entrepreneurs such as Grant Kelley have mastered the art of decision making. By promoting a culture of critical thinking, and by challenging the ideas by which we live by, you can enhance your decision-making process, and achieve better outcomes in your business.

For more information: Grant Kelley