“Provided with the freedom to choose, decision makers are likely to act more rationally and be more fully behind the decision.” Is how I finished last week’s blog.
Optifying your advice is delivering the freedom to choose in the optimum way. Your optimum way. And it follows the Rule of Three.
People like things in threes. Think of The Three Little Pigs or The Three Musketeers or Superman’s: ‘truth, justice and the American way’. Or ask Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’; or advertisers: ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ (a very successful government- funded campaign in Australia in the 1980s to shift people’s attitudes to taking precautions against skin cancer).
We like things in threes. We just do.
So optimise your advice using the rule of three. For most complex or at least complicated decisions there are multiple options that can be taken. Prepare three when giving your advice.
One should be low end, not favoured by you but at least heading in the right direction. One should be high-end. You would be over the moon if that option is taken. And one should be in a sweet spot in the middle. People like choice and will more likely be swayed away from the low-end to the middle by the high-end choice.
So when presenting the findings from your measurement of data, provide it as a range as best you can and give three options across the range.
Stay safe and adapt – with better measurement!
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Bryan's new book teaches you practical methods to cut through with your advice and make the impact you want to make. Available on Amazon or order here now.
YOUR DECISIONS DEFINE YOU.
Available on Amazon or order here now.
Bryan Whitefield works with strategic leaders across all sectors to help organisations harness uncertainty – uncertainty is the strategic leader’s best friend. He is the author of DECIDE: How to Manage the Risk in Your Decision Making and Winning Conversations: How to turn red tape into blue ribbon. He is the designer of the Risk Culture: Build Your Tribe of Advocates Program for support functions and the Persuasive Adviser Program for internal advisers. Both can be booked individually or in-house. For more information about Bryan, please click here.
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