Are you winning the argument at the expense of team collaboration and spirit?
The Story
Following a four-hour flight to Berlin, our team faced a seemingly minor but timingly challenge: selecting a restaurant in a city of endless options. While group members were open to experience new cuisines, the decision-making process started to be confused in terms of selection. I advocated strongly for a renowned local alternative, Hasir Ocakbasi, while others leaned toward familiar Italian options. Through clear communication, I successfully aligned the team with my preference. The evening was a success; however, as a decision-maker, the outcome of the dinner was secondary to the observation I made later.
Selecting a restaurant is a simple task but the process of the selection could be a bottleneck. In a work environment pushing for a personal agenda – even if it could be successful – may have a hidden cost. These thoughts lead me to a question: how should we make such decisions? When we returned to the hotel, everyone was happy with dinner experience and Traditional Turkish Food but the experience also raised a critical question for decision-makers: Are you winning the argument at the expense of team collaboration and spirit?
The Method
As human beings, we need to make more than 30000 decisions in a day according to Researchers. Some of these decisions are easy ones but some of them are challenging ones. However, all of them require mental energy if they are not part of your daily habit. In order to save time and energy, I recommend the Forced Ranking Method from Mueller’s and Dhar’s The Decision Maker’s Playbook. This method could be used for various applications. Let’s explore it for a restaurant choice. Three colleagues; Amanda, Yasser, and Liz are looking for a restaurant to have their lunch. They have different options in their mind. Amanda thinks about Italian Restaurant, Fish & Chips Restaurant, and Pizza Restaurant. Yasser thinks about Lebanese Restaurant, Italian Restaurant, and Turkish Restaurant. On the other hand, Liz prefers Fish & Chips first and then Pizza and Italian Restaurant.
1# Step | List the all alternatives
Amanda: Italian Restaurant, Fish & Chips Restaurant, Pizza Restaurant, and Turkish Restaurant.
Yasser: Lebanese Restaurant, Italian Restaurant, and Turkish Restaurant
Liz: Fish & Chips Restaurant, Pizza Restaurant, and Italian Restaurant.
2# Step | Make a table like this one
| Amanda | Yasser | Liz | Sum | |
| Italian Restaurant | ||||
| F&C Restaurant | ||||
| Pizza Restaurant | ||||
| Lebanese Restaurant | ||||
| Turkish Restaurant |
This method democratized decision making based on practical prioritization.
3# Step | Ask for prioritization, put to the table and sum each row
In this step, you need to put your prioritization for alternatives. As example, let’s look Amanda’s preferance:
Amanda: Italian Restaurant, Fish & Chips Restaurant, Pizza Restaurant, and Turkish Restaurant.
Amanda’s first preferance is Italian Restaurant and that makes its prioritization “1” in the table. The second preferance is Fish & Chips restaurant and that makes Fish & Chips Restaurant prioritization “2” in the table. The third preferance is Pizza Restaurant and that makes its prioritization “3” in the table. Similarly Turkish Restaurant is “4” in the table. Unfortunately, Amanda doesn’t share preferance for Labanese Restaurant and that makes it “5” in the table.
When we include all preferances to the table, it would like like this:
| Amanda | Yasser | Liz | Sum | |
| Italian Restaurant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| F&C Restaurant | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Pizza Restaurant | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| Lebanese Restaurant | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Turkish Restaurant | 4 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
4# Step | Sort the sum column for lowest to highest
Sorting the sum column will be helping you to understand which alternatives are top priority for group preference. In our example case, it is an Italian Restaurant. So, the group can go to an Italian restaurant first and if there is no space or is closed then they can go for a second alternative which is Fish & Chips Restaurant.
The Way of Application
You can use this method for different decision problems in your daily life if it requires collaborative action and some tools like Excel or MS Teams could help to share with your colleagues and ask for their opinion in a structured manner. However, there is something you should consider: When you or your colleagues share the alternatives, you need to make sure that you completed the research about your alternative. The method helps you to select and not confirm alternatives’ validity. So, if you put a restaurant which closed without your knowledge and then it doesn’t make sense to include this method. There are other methods to check validity and maybe we can discuss them in future articles.
Takeaways
- An average adult makes more than 30,000 decisions per day
- Most of the daily decisions are simple ones.
- The Forced Ranking Method provides a mathematical approach to collective preference.
- You should do a diligent research before rating your alternatives.
- Some tools like MS Excel or MS Teams could help to share with your colleagues.
References
- Mueller S. and Dhar J. (2019). The Decision Maker’s Playbook 12 Mental Tactics for Thinking More Clearly, Navigating Uncertainty and Making Smarter Choices. 1st Edition. Financial Times Publishing
- Sollisch, J. (2018). “How Many Decisions Do We Make Each Day?” Psychology Today.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not reflect the official policy or position of any past, present, or future employer or affiliated organisation. This content is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.
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