The Decision Matrix
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have 10 or 12 things that you need to prioritize? Often times in life, we have to set priorities, and usually they are relatively easy to set - as many of them tend to be set FOR us. And that's OK that some priorities are set for us, maybe its taking care of someone near and dear to you? Maybe its just a pressure from your work. We all have them.
But its the other priorities that can sometimes get pushed back because we don't know what we want most. What often happens is that we tend to do nothing in the face of not wanting to make the wrong decision. And last I checked - doing nothing rarely gets us anywhere.
SO, I have often used a simple Decision Matrix to help me sort out larger lists of options. They are relatively simple to do, and they can sometimes lead to some surprising results. Its a bit tricky to explain, so I'll do my best. Feel free to ask questions in the comments field if you need more explanation.
To start with its a matrix - almost a grid (in fact - you can use Excel to make one of these really quite easily). Take your list of items (we'll say there are 10 items for the sake of this example), and list them down a vertical column to the left of your work area/page. We call this column the Sort Column Order of preference is not important at this point.
Once you have listed the ten items down the column on the left, re-write the same items in the
same order at the top of the work area/page moving to the right. We call this the Comparison Row.
Now you should have a grid - just like an excel document. Now, starting at the top of the Sort Column, start comparing each item to the other items in the Comparison Row.
For every time the item in the Sort Column is "better" than the item in the Comparison Row, simply place a 1 in that space and move right to perform the next comparison. If the item is not as preferable as the item in the Comparison Row, then leave the area blank.
Repeat this until you have compared every item in the Sort Column with every item in the Comparison Row. You will have notice that you will have compared everything twice and that there is a diagonal line of comparisons where you have compared the same item against itself. Feel free to discard the self-comparisons.
Next, moving down the Sort Column, count the number of "1"s you have in the row to the right of it. In essance, how many times did it "win" against the Comparison Row. Tally the "1"s and place a score at the end of the row. Repeat this tally process for all the items in the Sort Column.
At the end, you will notice that the tally of items should start to shed some light on what's at the top of your list and what's at the bottom. For any ties in scoring, simply compare what was chosen as the 'winner' in your Decision Matrix.
Try it out. I know its a little complicated, so I've added a diagram to further illustrate.
Choosing a Goal
Since, everywhere I look, people seem to be talking about goals, I thought I'd chime in with my two cents.... ok... again!
The thing is - and I talked about this yesterday - its important to choose the right goals or you may end up in a situation you weren't really looking for in the first place. Heck, maybe it turns out well - but chances are its not
quite what you were looking for. So what are you looking for?
For me, I was once afraid of setting goals. Not because I feared achieving them, rather because I was afraid I would choose the wrong goals! Now that I look back on it, I realize how silly it all sounds. Realistically, if you set the wrong goal and achieve it, well, its further proof that you can achieve the goal that you
do want to achieve.
But how do you skip that annoying step of going the wrong way in the first place? Well, there are a couple of ways.
Most commonly, you will hear people talking about a forward facing perspective (or something to that effect). And what they generally mean by that is, place yourself in the future after already attaining that goal. Feel it, know it, taste it, be it. How does it feel? Now - look back at yourself today, and start figuring out what changes and actions need to happen.
Now this is a fantastic way of setting a goal. Tremendous! And what I've found is, I'm not always able to accomplish this sort of forward facing perspective. I just can't seem to get "in the zone" for some things. Now - keep in mind - I said "some things". Depending on what it is, I can very easily visualize some things and not others. Don't know why, don't really want to spend the time trying to figure it out. Why? Because I found another way.
I found out that I could take a list of goals - all things that came out of my mind. Things that I thought would be neat to achieve. And then I would "try them on for size". Its like trying on a new coat. How does it feel? Is the fabric nice? Will it keep you warm? Can you move around in it? Does it constrict your movement? Or does it allow you to move about freely? Funnily enough, when you ask these same questions of yourself with regard to the outcome of a goal, you'll find out pretty quick if it really is important to you, and where it should sit in the list of your priorities.
If you're really having troubles deciding what you want to do most, what goal you want to pursue most of all, then check out the Decision Matrix in the next post. It helps you get a visual representation of how you can prioritize a list of items.
But the number one message for today is - chase your goals! Don't let indecision eat at any more of your life!
Where Are You Headed?
When was the last time you took a moment to really think things through about where you are headed with your life? I mean, really think things through.
Most of us spend a lot of time working in our everyday lives that we forget to work ON our everyday lives.
Many people talk about goals and focus and direction. I would hazard a guess that everyone who might read this has heard of the Harvard study on goals (where the 3% of students who had written goals actually achieved them, and were way further ahead of the other 97% of the class). And I would hazard a guess that, while everyone knows they should have a goal and strive to achieve it - few people are actually doing it. In fact, I would say that most of us are just "hoping" it all works out. And as we all also know - hopes and dreams are not goals.
SO why am I harping on about goals today? Well, I read a great quote that I had forgotten about. And it said something to the effect of, "I spent so much time worrying about climbing the ladder, that when I got to the top, I realized that it was leaning against the wrong building." I find that an interesting sentiment.
How many people do you see, who toil away at their lives, day in day out - just to keep climbing that ladder. Are you one of those people? Are you climbing up the right ladder? One key question to ask yourself: How did you get here? Did you "fall into" your job? Or did you get there by design? Do you know what your next step is in this job? Is it the next step you'd like to take for yourself? do the goals and visions of your job or the company you work for, match your goals and visions?
Take time to ask yourself these questions. You might save yourself the trouble of climbing up a ladder that's leaning on the wrong building.
Happy New Year!!!
Well, its day 2 of 2007. For all you calendar watchers out there, this has got to be an exciting time… you just finished crossing off all the days in 2006 and now you have a whole new, fresh calendar.
So let me ask you this – how are you going to fill those days of 2007? What will you have written down in your calendar over the past 365 days when we get to this point next year? What successes will you have celebrated? What losses will you mourn? What will you have learnt? What new things will you have tried? What new habits will you have? What old habits will you have put to rest?
In short: what did you accomplish?
For me, looking back on last year, it was a banner year for me. I had a ton of wonderful experiences, met some amazing people, took some scary gambles, and enjoyed some fantastic successes. And this is the time to look back on all those times and reminisce with a smile on my face.
But on the flip side, I dropped the occasional ball. I tried to break bad habits that didn’t stick, and generally made some mistakes – thankfully none of them too drastic. But the mistakes I did make were all the result of losing my focus. Taking my eye off the ball.
So this year, without going into a long and drawn out explanation of what I did – or in the cases directly above – didn’t do, I’m going to let you in on my new resolution. Now, I simply call it a resolution, because I feel that one should make a resolution whenever and wherever one is needed – not because the calendar has tripped over another day. As we all know – there is no better time to start ANYTHING, but the present.
And so my resolution is to increase my focus so as to decrease the number of times I let my bad habits get the better of me.
What are you going to do this year? Do you have a new resolution for 2007? Or will you be battling the same old demons? Taking the fight to them and winning even more ground this year? Will 2007 be the year you finally turn the corner? Why not? What do you have to lose?
I once heard someone say: “fear is never a good reason not to do something”. Think about that for a moment… If you’re not doing something you want or need to be doing, chances are, that fear of some sort is holding you back. Remember, fear is false. Some define it as an acronym: False Evidence Appearing Real. However you want to think of it, it largely stems from an inner voice that tells you that you can’t do something. Make 2007 the year you stop listening to that voice.
Make 2007 the year you shine!
