How more options can help make better decisions faster

A study by Prof. Paul Nutt found that 71% of leadership teams only consider one option when making decisions. And their decisions failed 52% of the time over the long term. But when teams considered multiple alternatives, failure dropped to 32%.

Why does this happen? Relying on just one option leads to confirmation bias and emotional investment. When decision makers focus on a single option, they ask the wrong questions:

• How can we make this work?

• How do we get buy-in?

And they ignore more important questions:

• Is there a better way?

• What else could we do?

Widening your options solves this problem. It keeps egos in check and prevents people from becoming overly attached to a single idea.

Many leaders worry that considering multiple options will slow them down. Research says the opposite is true. Studies in Silicon Valley show that teams who explore multiple options actually make faster decisions. Why?

1. Comparing alternatives helps us understand what’s possible, making decisions easier.

2. More options reduce office politics because people get less invested in any one option.

3. Having multiple options means built-in backup plans, so teams can pivot quickly if one option fails.

Executives who consider multiple alternatives make six times as many very good decisions*. And you don’t need dozens of options, just one or two extra choices can make all the difference as long as they are meaningfully distinct.

Next time you face a big choice, don’t settle for one good idea. Generate at least two more distinct options to improve the chance of success.

*Research from the University of Kiel in Germany.