Role of Emotion in Decision Making

Emotions play a part in decision-making. There is no doubt about it that our choices are often directed by our feelings. There has been discussion regarding the elimination of emotional injection into the decision-making process, and that by eliminating emotional input we can make better, more rational decisions.

However, I believe that reducing emotions from decisions can leave out a very important element that not only propels decisions forward, but adds weight to decisive action. This element is your emotional context. How you feel about your choices can have a drastic impact on how others perceive the decision. Confidence stems from the emotional connection when making a choice.  When we believe, we can achieve.

During my service in the Navy I was faced with many emotionally trying situations which required tactical decision-making. One of these events occurred while I was leading a 45 person security detail on the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. For what ever reason the powers that be had passed down a ridiculous SOP for security to upload and download before and after a 12 hour watch. The new procedure would take on another 2 1/2 hours to an already long watch. As the Watch Commander I stood in front of my section and proceeded to inform them of the new Gun Barrel Procedure. As expected, the response was not positive.

I had personally trained the majority of my team and I knew very well the limitations we shared, who needed close supervision, and who were fully capable to operate safely and efficiently. I made the decision that we would not be altering our procedures and we would not be adding any more wasted time to our watch. I said this with confidence and emotionally charged. My men (and women) were important to me, and they knew this. However, I did inform them that we would need to ensure that there were NO short-cuts either. We would be safe and expeditious. This may have been a blatant disregard for orders passed down, but I knew our mission and the best way to accomplish it.

On the other side of this confident, emotional charge was a time when I was not so confident in a situation. In my new job as a General Manager for a small retail outdoor living store I was faced with a sticky situation regarding an employee. this person did mediocre work, often came in late, and almost always was complaining about one thing or another. However, this person was well liked in the office. Two months into my management I was faced with cutting back hours. I had to make a decision. Fire this person, and possibly shake up the office, or keep her on and struggle to meet our level of production that would vindicate the extra hours. I did feel I could lead this person into changing their habits, and the they could be an asset to the team. I also felt that we should cut the weight and move forward. This would mean less of us would be handling more work. Basically, I did not know which way would be the best approach. I had little confidence that either way I would be at a loss.

I chose to make a management decision and terminate this employee. Inside I was probably regretting this decision. However, I sat the other employees down and had a talk about our situation, expectations, and my vision for the future. I don't think I let the other see my lack of confidence in this decision, and it ultimately worked out in my favor. Our people realized that everyone can be replaced and the business is the goal, not one particular person.

Listening to emotions can have a dramatic effect on decision outcomes. Ignoring emotions within the process can be a bad thing. Emotions can also lead the charge when a decision is made. People follow confidence backed up with intelligence and energy. Making the right decisions means listening to all the aspect involved, including how you feel about the outcome.

JP

Collaborative Decision-Making

Recently I began a new career as the General Manager for Homefield: The Outdoor Living Store in Corpus Christi, TX. Fortunately for me, I worked with this company over 12 years ago and grew up with the owner. This might have helped me land one of the most profitable markets in our organization, and a very nice transition from the Navy.

Now, to say I was chomping at the bit to get back into sales (where things make sense to me) is an understatement. I was very eager to implement all these grand ideas I had to take a good market and make it great. I was eager to prove my self to my old friend and boss... and so the set up for a potentially costly decision has been made.

Corpus Christi is a mid-sized town of around 300K and growing. There is a distinct "small town" flavor to this Texas port city, yet there is plenty of new development, especially in new homes (perfect for an outdoor living store). One of the cultural attractions of Corpus is the Corpus Christi Trade Center, a huge flea-market if you will. There are hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors each weekend. You can find anything from jewelry to pottery, and car speakers to tattoos. With such a wide variety of vendors, products, and services I thought it would be a great idea to invest in an outdoor booth showcasing a few of our products.

The main focus I was planning to showcase was our redwood play systems ($3,000+), spring-free trampolines ($1,500-$2,000), our ceramic grill ($800-$1,200), and some patio furniture ($300+). I thought I had found a gold mine of new opportunities at the Trade Show. This was going to be my first home run in my new gig.

After gathering some initial information like cost, space, location, and arranged for our installation crew to make room for set-up I reached out to my old friend to share this vision and plan (and get his approval of course). Instead of the thunderous applause for my efforts and "go get em" attitude I had hoped for I got some voiced concerns and objections from my boss. He was not convinced this decision would be as fruitful as I thought it would be. He began to explain to me that this was not our typical clientele and I would be wasting a lot of effort, time, and money on a very little (if any) return on investment. Boy, was I going to enjoy watching hime eat his words!

What I didn't take into consideration was that while I was brand new to this town, job, and market my old friend had been a Pro for the past 20 years growing his business. There is not a single person with more experience and vision than he. While he had offered some sound business advice for me to reconsider this venture he made the best "Leadership" decision and said, "Go ahead if you like. I had to learn the hard way myself, and it taught me some very important lessons along my way".

I had my green light to take this risk and I moved forward with the plan. The end result was a lot of wasted time, effort, and money with a very small return on our (his) investment. Looking back I realize I ignored the best advice from the highest stakeholder in my company... the owner.

5 things stakeholders can bring into a collaborative decision-making process are: experience, different points of view, different frames of thought, objective vision, and an eye on the big picture. These are pretty valuable aspects of making decisions especially when the outcome affects more than just you.

Luckily, we did make a small profit from this venture, but pales in comparison to what we could have made had I listened to my boss and directed my efforts in areas that had proven success in the past. I learned three very important lessons from this decision. First, listen to what other stakeholders have to say. Second, don't be too anxious to charge in unprepared and without all the information available. And lastly, Sometimes we learn more from mistakes than we do from successes... However, we are better served by acknowldgeing other's mistakes rather than making our own new ones.

While this example was a small decision with small consequences it was an important lesson for me to learn how collaboration is a far better tool to use in decision-making than going it alone.

JP