Decision Making Glossary - S

We have put together a glossary for decision making related terminology and acronyms to convey our meaning on this important topic.

Satisficing

In decision making, satisficing (a combination of the words and meanings of satisfy and suffice) explains the tendency to select the first option that meets a given need or select the option that seems to address most needs rather than the "optimal" solution. The word satisfice was coined by Herbert Simon (1916 - 2001) who was an American political scientist, economist, psychologist, and professor.

Scenarios

Scenarios identify different states of the future that will impact the value of your business; outside of your control; typically built up as a permutations and/or combinations of possible future events. [ESDM]

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Stakeholder

A person, group, organization, or system with a direct interest or investment in something that can affect or be affected by a decision and its associated actions and consequences.

For personal decisions, such as your Next Career Decision, stakeholders would typically include your spouse, family members, close friends, advisors, and possibly groups or organizations that might influence or be impacted by your decision.

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Strategic Decisions

Strategic decisions create, change or maintain the capability to deliver value for your business or your life. They launch non-recurring work to accomplish the intended result. Strategic decisions are typically large overarching decisions with long-term impact, frequently under uncertainty. [ESDM]

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Systems thinking

Systems thinking provides a holistic view of a complex problem. Instead of focusing on problems only through decomposition, one looks at problems as part of a larger system, and how these parts influence one another with the intent of avoiding unintended consequences.

Our decision framework is an example of taking a system view of decisions where perspective or context is provided for each decision by examining the recurring patterns in the relationships between the decisions.

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