In the journey of mastering decision-making, one of the most subtle and pervasive traps we often fall into is something known as “resulting.” This concept is all about how we evaluate our decisions based on their outcomes rather than the quality of the decision-making process itself. While it may seem natural to judge a decision by how things turn out, this approach can lead us to some seriously flawed conclusions. Let’s dig deeper into this idea and explore how it impacts our lives and our ability to make better decisions.
What Is Resulting?
Imagine you decide to quit your job to take a new position at another company. If that job turns out to be amazing — you love your coworkers, feel fulfilled, and get promoted within a year — you’d probably consider that decision a great one. On the flip side, if the new job turns out to be a nightmare and you’re laid off within a year, you might think it was a terrible decision.
But here’s the catch: in both scenarios, you made the same decision based on the same information available at the time. The difference lies only in the outcome, not in the decision-making process itself. This is resulting — a mental shortcut where we let the quality of the outcome dictate our judgment of the decision, even when those two things aren’t necessarily connected.
The Problem with Resulting
The issue with resulting is that it oversimplifies complex decisions. We tend to equate good outcomes with good decisions and bad outcomes with bad decisions, but this isn’t always accurate. While decision quality and outcome quality are correlated, they are not perfectly aligned. Sometimes, a good decision can lead to a bad outcome, and vice versa. For example, you could follow all the traffic laws, drive through a green light, and still get into an accident because someone else ran a red light. Does that mean your decision to drive through the green light was bad? Of course not. But if we judge the decision solely by the outcome, we might mistakenly think so.
Resulting causes us to learn the wrong lessons. If we succeed, we might believe our decision-making was flawless, when in reality, we just got lucky. If we fail, we might think we made a poor decision, even when we did everything right. This misalignment between decision quality and outcome quality can cloud our judgment and prevent us from improving our decision-making skills.
Luck and Its Role in Decision-Making
Another critical element that resulting often overlooks is luck. Luck is the unpredictable factor that intervenes between your decision and the outcome. It’s the element of randomness that can lead to unexpected results, regardless of the quality of the decision.
For example, you might make a well-researched investment in a promising company. If the company succeeds, you’ll probably pat yourself on the back for making a smart decision. But if the company fails due to unforeseen circumstances, you might kick yourself for a bad decision. In reality, the decision to invest could have been sound in both scenarios, with luck being the factor that determined the outcome.
Understanding the role of luck helps us separate decision quality from outcome quality. It reminds us that even the best decisions can lead to poor outcomes and that bad decisions can sometimes turn out well due to sheer luck.
The Four Categories of Decision and Outcome Quality
To better understand how decision quality and outcome quality interact, let’s break them down into four categories:
- Earned Reward: This occurs when a good decision leads to a good outcome. For example, you decide to start a regular exercise routine, and over time, you lose weight and gain muscle. Here, the quality of the decision aligns with the positive result.
- Dumb Luck: This is when a poor decision leads to a good outcome. Imagine you buy a lottery ticket on a whim and win a large sum of money. The decision to gamble wasn’t necessarily wise, but luck intervened in your favor.
- Bad Luck: This happens when a good decision leads to a bad outcome. You might make a smart financial investment based on solid research, but due to an unexpected market crash, you lose money. The decision was good, but bad luck led to a negative result.
- Just Desserts: This is when a poor decision leads to a bad outcome. For instance, you decide to drive recklessly, run a red light, and end up in an accident. In this case, the bad outcome is a direct result of the poor decision.
Recognizing these categories helps us understand that not all good outcomes are the result of good decisions, and not all bad outcomes stem from poor decisions. This understanding is crucial for improving our decision-making process over time.
Learning from Experience Without Falling into the Resulting Trap
One of the biggest challenges in decision-making is learning from experience while avoiding the resulting trap. To do this, we need to develop the discipline to evaluate decisions based on the process rather than the outcome. Here are some strategies to help you do that:
- Separate Decision and Outcome Quality: After any decision, reflect on the process rather than just the result. Ask yourself: Was the decision based on sound reasoning? Did I gather enough information? Did I consider the risks and potential outcomes? This helps you focus on what you can control — your decision-making process.
- Acknowledge the Role of Luck: Recognize that luck plays a significant role in outcomes. Don’t be too quick to credit or blame yourself solely based on how things turned out. This awareness helps you stay grounded and maintain a balanced perspective.
- Revisit Your Decisions: Periodically review past decisions with the benefit of hindsight, but do so with a focus on the process, not just the outcome. This can help you identify patterns in your decision-making and make adjustments for the future.
- Cultivate Compassion: Whether evaluating your own decisions or those of others, be compassionate. Understand that everyone is navigating a world full of uncertainties, and not all outcomes are within our control. This mindset can help you avoid harsh self-criticism or unfair judgment of others.
Moving Forward: Beyond Resulting
In mastering decision-making, one of the most powerful shifts you can make is moving beyond resulting. By focusing on the process rather than the outcome, you become a more thoughtful and strategic decision-maker. You learn to see past the immediate results and recognize the true quality of your decisions, leading to better choices in the future.
As we continue in this series, we’ll explore more tools and techniques to enhance your decision-making skills. But for now, take some time to reflect on your past decisions. Are there instances where you might have fallen into the resulting trap? How can you apply the insights from this discussion to make better decisions moving forward?
Stay tuned for the next part, where we’ll delve into even more practical strategies for mastering the art of decision-making.