Follow the right elements of an effective decision process

Make decisions only when there is a disagreement.
Disagreements can provide alternatives and stimulate the imagination to adopt new principles and strategies that could result in the organization's growth.

Find out if the need for a decision is about a generic situation or an exception.
Focus on generic problems by adopting rules and principles. For example, if your organization is experiencing a serious fall in sales, you could decide on changing your sales strategies.

Come up with clear specifications as to what the decision has to accomplish.
Determine the objectives and goals of the decision, coupled with the conditions it has to satisfy.

Base your decision on what is right rather than on what is acceptable.

Encourage opinions from others.
However, insist that the opinion givers think through what it is that the testing of the opinion against reality will have to show.

Convert the decision into action.
A decision is only a good intention unless carried out in specific steps.

Find the appropriate measurement of your decision.
For example, you could find out the length of time needed to get back your original investment in a new marketing campaign.

Get feedback about your decision.
Feedback will provide the basis for continuous testing against actual events of the expectations that underline the decision.