403: How To Escape The Either/Or Trap And Make Better Decisions

About this episode

This episode discusses strategies to escape binary thinking in decision making and encourages more creative approaches to complex choices.

You’re stuck between two options, going back and forth, trying to figure out the “right” choice. Should you hire or not? Change systems or stay the same? Restructure or keep things as they are? The more you think about it, the more stuck you feel. It’s easy to assume the answer is hidden somewhere between those two choices, but often, that’s the real problem. You’re treating a complex decision as if it only has two possible paths. In this quick lesson, I share five practical strategies to help you break out of binary thinking and expand your options. By the end of this lesson, you’ll know how to approach decisions more creatively, uncover better solutions, and move forward with greater confidence, without feeling stuck between “either” and “or.” Conversation Topics (00:00) Why either-or thinking keeps you stuck in tough decisions (00:59) How binary thinking limits better, more creative solutions (01:30) Strategy 1: Generate “options within options” to expand your choices (03:03) Strategy 2: Challenge the assumptions behind your choices (03:58) Strategy 3: Sequence decisions instead of treating them as permanent (04:20) [Extended Episode] Strategy 4: Create hybrid solutions that…

People in this episode

Host: Mamie Kanfer Stewart

Topics covered

• decision making
• binary thinking
• creative solutions
• strategies
• management

Keywords

• either-or thinking
• decision strategies
• options
• assumptions
• stakeholder perspectives

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