Avoid Analysis Paralysis

Kip Caffey

In every enterprise managers make decisions every day, and they have to do so in the absence of perfect information.

Business schools teach great tools for decision-making. My favorite was decision trees, which lay out all the options graphically and use quantitative analysis and probability assessment to calculate the value of each option. Easy, right? Information technology has upped the difficulty. Information is still imperfect, and now it’s overly abundant. “Analysis paralysis” can set in.

Whichever decision tools you use, don’t be overwhelmed. Be thorough in your analysis, then make the best decision you can. That’s what good managers do.

–Kip Caffey, Cary Street Partners