The KitShift Kit
Decision-makingDivergence ~20 min · 5 steps

Options

The first idea is rarely the best. Forcing yourself past two options is where the thinking happens.

Overview

You'll notice quickly that many of these worksheets are some variation of "there's almost always more than one solution".

Take something as simple as eating a meal. In the US or Europe you'll be handed a knife and fork. In much of Asia you'll get chopsticks. In some places it's perfectly acceptable to eat with your hands. Totally different, yet acceptable, options — and interestingly, the method of eating shapes the food that's cooked.

Coming up with two options is incredibly easy. Coming up with more than two is only possible when you stop and really think through the situation.

A Work Story

There was a small team of five. One member always seemed to get the boss to say yes. One day the others asked the boss why he always said yes to that person.

He explained: that person always walked in and made it easy to say yes, because they came in with options that showed how deeply they'd thought through the situation. That person did the work, and was able to demonstrate it.

What they were doing was using something like the Options worksheet in this kit. Have fun being the envy of all your coworkers.

The worksheet

Force four options. For each, capture the pros, cons, cost, and timing. The grid will reveal the strong and weak ideas.