According to AI “The art of delaying decisions is the practice of giving yourself more time to consider options and weigh pros and cons before making a final choice. It can be a valuable tool when used strategically, and can lead to better-informed decisions.” Such a delay can:
There is an interesting book on this topic called Wait: the Art and Science of Delay by Frank Partnoy which I have just downloaded and started reading. He suggests that “given the pace of modern life, most of us tend to react too quickly. We don’t, or can’t, take enough time to think through the increasingly complex timing challenges we face.”commenting that “in most situations we should take more time than we do”. He explores “two questions central to decisions in our personal and professional lives. First, how long should we take to react or decide in a particular situation? second, Then, once we have a sense of the correct time period, how should we spend our time leading up to the moment decision?” The book is reviewed in this blog which says it “argues that better outcomes are in store if we consciously and unconsciously delay the time in making decisions.” He suggests that great discoveries like gravity by Isaac Newton and the lightbulb by Thomas Eddison were not eureka moments but rather the result of continued tinkering for which you need time.
See also this article The Art of Delaying which discusses “The Lines Between Being A Lazy Procrastinator and A Tactical Genius.” It comments that “To put it simply, the art of delaying is finding the right moment to delay your action to trigger a reaction in favor of your first action and then you can react easily. ……When you rush things, you tend to overlook things and are likely to regret your decision one day. Delaying is one way to avoid this.”
Intriguingly there is a concept in Agile software development about the benefits of delaying decisions – see this blogwhich describes this principle as follows. “The Last Responsible Moment is a strategy in lean development that emphasizes the importance of delaying certain decisions in software development until the cost of not making a decision becomes greater than the cost of making a decision.” I like this article which analyses “the anatomy of a decision” and discusses “the cascading nature of decentralized decision-making” observing “Sometimes, the needed information is not readily available to the decision-maker. In this case, deferring a highly impactful decision may be appropriate.”
Of course, this approach also varies in accordance with individual skill sets. The best sports people such as professional tennis players and cricketers always seem to have more time to make split second decisions in the moment. Skilled and experienced professional practitioners may similarly be able to arrive at a decision quicker than an acolyte in their field because they know the likely outcome of their decision having been there before. I still think it behoves us no matter how experienced we may be to consciously take steps to avoid rushing a decision that could have serious consequences. Some ideas or techniques to further this process I have observed or considered include the following.
As Frank Partnoy said “if you don't know how to manage time, time can rule you like a tyrant.”
And the Canadian journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell shrewdly observed “Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.”
While more inspirationally “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela.
- Provide more time to gather information
- Enable you to consider different perspectives
- Allow your subconscious to incubate!
There is an interesting book on this topic called Wait: the Art and Science of Delay by Frank Partnoy which I have just downloaded and started reading. He suggests that “given the pace of modern life, most of us tend to react too quickly. We don’t, or can’t, take enough time to think through the increasingly complex timing challenges we face.”commenting that “in most situations we should take more time than we do”. He explores “two questions central to decisions in our personal and professional lives. First, how long should we take to react or decide in a particular situation? second, Then, once we have a sense of the correct time period, how should we spend our time leading up to the moment decision?” The book is reviewed in this blog which says it “argues that better outcomes are in store if we consciously and unconsciously delay the time in making decisions.” He suggests that great discoveries like gravity by Isaac Newton and the lightbulb by Thomas Eddison were not eureka moments but rather the result of continued tinkering for which you need time.
See also this article The Art of Delaying which discusses “The Lines Between Being A Lazy Procrastinator and A Tactical Genius.” It comments that “To put it simply, the art of delaying is finding the right moment to delay your action to trigger a reaction in favor of your first action and then you can react easily. ……When you rush things, you tend to overlook things and are likely to regret your decision one day. Delaying is one way to avoid this.”
Intriguingly there is a concept in Agile software development about the benefits of delaying decisions – see this blogwhich describes this principle as follows. “The Last Responsible Moment is a strategy in lean development that emphasizes the importance of delaying certain decisions in software development until the cost of not making a decision becomes greater than the cost of making a decision.” I like this article which analyses “the anatomy of a decision” and discusses “the cascading nature of decentralized decision-making” observing “Sometimes, the needed information is not readily available to the decision-maker. In this case, deferring a highly impactful decision may be appropriate.”
Of course, this approach also varies in accordance with individual skill sets. The best sports people such as professional tennis players and cricketers always seem to have more time to make split second decisions in the moment. Skilled and experienced professional practitioners may similarly be able to arrive at a decision quicker than an acolyte in their field because they know the likely outcome of their decision having been there before. I still think it behoves us no matter how experienced we may be to consciously take steps to avoid rushing a decision that could have serious consequences. Some ideas or techniques to further this process I have observed or considered include the following.
- Understand the actual consequence of the time dilemma – in my outsourcing example above both sides had been negotiating for months and it was very unlikely that a failure to comply with the ultimatum on one day would wreck the deal.
- So call the other sides bluff and say you need more time to make an informed decision.
- Don’t keep the problem to yourself – discuss the issue with colleagues and managers.
- Go home and “sleep on it” – it is amazing how often this old adage is true – things take on a different perspective after a night away from the problem.
- Delay sending a complex or contentious email - apparently (see this blog) Abraham Lincoln, when angry at a colleague, would write a letter ‘venting’ his pent-up rage – but rather than sending it, he put it to one side and re-read it maybe a day later, when his mind had cleared. Usually, he didn’t send it after that, but threw it away.
- You can also use instant messaging technology to delay or schedule sending a message.
- Ask for more detailed information or a review by some other department like finance or HR.
As Frank Partnoy said “if you don't know how to manage time, time can rule you like a tyrant.”
And the Canadian journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell shrewdly observed “Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.”
While more inspirationally “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela.
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