Gut Reactions and Decision Making

In Improv, we teach people to be 'in the moment.' In the moment means being aware of what's happening NOW, and to reacting to THIS moment rather than reacting to something that happened previously or something that reminds you the current situation.

​I recently finished a workshop for a group regarding decision making and innovation tools. The process includes generating as much as possible (brainstorming) and then narrowing the field of options based on needs and desires defined before the process begins. 

For me, those things are in perfect union. The decision making process sometimes gets jumbled by not defining your goals and intended outcomes first. If you can spend the time getting closer to what you want and closer to what you are attempting to see as an outcome of the decision, then the clearer you can be in reacting to the offers you receive in the moment. Brainstorming then becomes focussed based on needs and strategic directions, rather than just about divergent thought.

The steps:
1. Define the outcome you would like to see: Start by defining what you are really trying to do, and get clear about the underlying motive of the action. .
2. Define the field of play: Where do you do this? What factors surround the decision?
3. Generate solutions without being tied down to the constraints of reality. An unreal solution can lead to a possible solution somewhere.

After that - it is about action. 
Question - How do I do this? Answer - Just do it!
Question - Am I doing it right? Answer - Yes!
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​Once you have made a motion forward, new information becomes available. That new information now makes the previous moment inconsequential, and creates a new situation to be dealt with.

So the question becomes, what role does a gut reaction play in your decision making process?

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