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Decision-making is a human activity involving free will & choice. It must be differentiated from a transaction where only rationality & logic are involved & the action required is unambiguous & hence, the process can be automated. In decision-making there is conflict, ambiguity & uncertainty & hence, both rationality & emotions come into play, both sides of the brain are required ---the Left Brain for logic, rationality & judgment & the Right Brain for creativity, ideas & vision. It is recorded by Herodotus in 430 B.C. that the Persians used to make important decisions when they were drunk. If the same decision was agreed upon when they were sober, it was carried out. Conversely, decisions made when they were sober were reviewed when they were drunk. Weird as this may seem there is justification for this approach. The human being is the only creature we know which is bicameral, with two brains, a left-brain & a right brain. The left-brain works faster than the right brain pushing us to act based on what is obvious & logical. The right brain is more reflective, seeing the total picture & hence seeing what is not so obvious, the minute details, the hidden opportunities & threats. Alcohol slows down the left-brain hindering quick, reflexive action. In a relaxed mood the creativity & insight of the right brain comes into play. That is how probably Archimedes discovered, while relaxing in his bath, why things weigh less when submerged in water.
But, since decision-making involves both thinking & feeling how is this synthesis done? Recent discoveries have found that this is done in a third part of the brain termed the OLD BRAIN. It is a primitive organ & is also called the reptilian brain as it still exists in reptiles. It is the seat of the powerful subconscious & is concerned with our survival.
For those concerned about decision-making the new insight is that a Dominant Attitude makes decisions. People avoid or fail to make decisions if the driving force is absent or not enough to overcome the obstacles involved. As human beings we continuously have to make decisions, as in purchasing or getting others to make decisions as in selling. In fact it is said that nothing happens until someone sells something be it the mother getting a child to eat her meals or a politician seeking your vote in an elections.

ATTITUDES

Attitudes determine HOW we will approach Situations & whether we will act at all. Attitudes develop & are strengthened by experiences. Experiences may be obtained through Life Events or through education & training. Education is meant to expand the experience base & transfer the experiences over history & time to the student. It determines “How” one will decide, which is considered more important than “What” is decided. Computer simulators replicate actual conditions & hence, compress years of experience, which involve time, pain & cost, into a few hours before a computer screen.
The more experiences we are exposed to the more likely we are to take decisions. People, who have decided, even though they may have made mistakes, should, therefore, be preferred to those who have not acted at all. “If you are not criticized you may not be doing much”. We react based on attitudes such as Fear, Greed, Security, Safety, Disaster, Uncertainty, and Crisis. Let us see how some Dominant Attitudes help in the decision-making process.

Learn to Learn

“Success is the stepping stone to failure”

There are numerous examples of decisions, which were bad because they stemmed from wrong attitudes --- We know everything. We are the best. Don’t come to us with ridiculous ideas. Western Union, which at that time dominated long distance communication with the telegraph, rejected the offer to purchase Alexander Graham Bell’s patent for the telephone --- it had too many shortcomings. Bell & its successor AT&T came to rule the communications industry in the 20th Century while Western Union declined. Henry Ford refused to change the design of his Model T car & smashed the model made by an enterprising engineer, who had seen the need for change. Ford, however, was forced to introduce the Model A in 1928 but, by then General Motors was already ahead. Those who were running the electrical services by generating & selling direct current rejected the application of alternating current. So was the concept of the vacuum brake on the railroads. For effective decision-making one must “Learn to learn”, be prepared to say, ”I. don’t know”. One must NOT stop to hear what others have to say. There is a distinction between “Wrong decisions”, which everyone makes because of lack of experience or information & “Bad decisions” which don’t take the necessary precautions or go against science, human nature & the welfare of mankind. Predictable errors are preventable. But outcomes & results are most often unpredictable & determined by forces out of our control. There is always the element of chance in how things work out. But, the way we make decisions, the process of decision-making is in our hands.