How You Can Make Better Decisions

Publishers need to make decisions every day about promotion, which manuscripts to take on, editing, distribution, finances and employees. The concept of "social exploration"[1] can help you make better decisions. This is the process of gathering, examining, organizing and testing ideas from multiple sources so you can tap into the "wisdom of the crowd." Here are the Top Ten Ways to Make Better Decisions.

1. Become a social explorer seeking new people with which to brainstorm and expose yourself to a broad variety of thinking.
2. Qualify and prioritize your ideas by bouncing them off people in diverse social networks with a range of backgrounds (not just other publishers)
3. If your network is too tight and familiar you may just get variations of the same, limited ideas instead
4. Do not just "think outside the box," but choosing a different box in which to think. Directing your creativity helps find new solutions
5. The social interactions you choose can create habits and limitations on the information you gather and how you make your decisions
6. Seek ideas from many different people and take advantage of the wisdom of the crowd - makes for better decision than applying individual judgment
7. Good decision making can come by imitating successful behavior
8. Do not simply imitate the success of others, but evaluate how their behavior impacts your circumstances
9. Create balance and diversity in your network of people
10. Balance the rate of idea flow with the quality of ideas generated, as they apply to your search for information

[1] Beyond the Echo Chamber, Harvard Business Review, November 2013 pp 80 - 86