317 Week 5 Discussion

It’s Your Choice 9 – Frame: Who is Involved in the Decision and How Much Time

Narrator: On today's episode, whose decision is it, we’ll review the key components of the decision frame and highlight two factors that add complexity, who is involved with the decision and how much time to spend making the decision. Nicole: Today is our last show on the framing link. We're using it to do a quick review of the three components of a decision frame and highlight some things that make framing a decision tricky. Roger: Okay then let's do it. The three main components of a decision frame are purpose, perspective and scope. Perspective is where you stand in relation to a decision. Your perspective affects your ability to predict what might happen as a result of your decision. Scope identifies the appropriate size and boundaries of a decision. We can use the HIP check to help us size up the scope of a decision. Nicole: Purpose is about getting clear on what it is you're trying to achieve through this decision. Roger: You know, Nicole, when you think about it, this whole purpose thing runs right back into perspective. I mean, how many times are we so focused on what we want out of a decision that we don't see the unwanted things we're likely to get, or even who else might be really effected by our choice? Nicole: Yep. Like I said, there's some real life things that make framing decision trickier than framing a poster and figuring out just who is involved in the decision, let alone who will be affected by it is certainly one of those things. Here's the video that illustrates this point.

Nicole:Whose decision is it? Meet Kayla. She just got back from the deli where she ordered this delicious liverwurst sandwich. What doesn't sound good to you? Well, the thing is that it's her decision, whether you like her sandwich or not, doesn't really matter because you won't be eating it, and since this is a video, you won't even have to smell it. Choosing what to eat for lunch is pretty much an individual decision. You may want to consider the impact the decision will have on other people, but for the most part, whoever's buying and eating the food gets to make the choice, but not all decisions are as simple as ordering lunch. Nicole: Many of them have a significant impact on other people, so it's worthwhile to think about who is involved and the role they'll play in the decision process. Like this year, Kayla is deciding where to go to college. At first she thought she was the only decision maker since she's the one filling out the application and sending in her transcript, but this is really a shared decision. Her parents have offered to pay half of her tuition, so if they don't approve of her decision, they might not help her pay and if they don't help pay, she'll have a hard time coming up with the money for school. While it might not have seemed so at first they also own the decision. If someone has a major stake in your decision, it's worth asking if they're also decision makers. In this case, because Kayla can't really afford college on her own, it makes sense for her to share the decision with her parents. Kayla's boyfriend on the other hand, has a different role. Kayla knows he'll be impacted by this decision. If she stays close by, they'll see each other a lot and probably continue their relationship, but if she goes across the country and doesn't see him as

often, they probably won't. The thing is that while he will be affected and she cares what he thinks, he really isn't a decision maker. Nicole: Then there are other people who are somewhat involved in this decision, like Kayla asked her friends where they're all going to college because it's important to her to be able to visit them. She solicited their advice, because she wants their opinions. But she's also finding with this college stuff, everyone has an opinion, some she wants and some that she doesn't. For example, this is her older sister, Amanda, who has decided that Kayla needs to go to the same school as her. She didn't ask for her sister's advice because they're so different, and yet Amanda seems to think that she should make Kayla's decision for her. It's funny because about a week ago, Amanda came to Kayla and wanted to know if she should break up with that jerk she's dating and Kayla was like, um, yeah, but then she didn't. At first Kayla was mad at her, but then she realized that the decision is Amanda's and not hers. Kayla just wishes her sister would come to the same realization about her role in Kayla's college choice. Sometimes it's just as important to recognize when you're not the decider as when you are. Roger: So I guess one of the things we're hoping our viewers will get from this Kayla story is how important it is to sort out the roles of all the people who land inside your decision frame. Who has a real vote in the decision, who has an opinion worth considering, who it might be ok to ignore. Nicole: Paying attention to who’s inside your decision frame and what role each person has in the decision is an important part of checking the scope, perspective and purpose of your decision, but paying attention to the time factors of a decision is also important, so important in fact, it's the last topic we want to touch on. I think it's helpful to ask yourself three questions. One, when do I have to make this decision, two, how much time should I spend on it, and three, when should I spend that time? Roger: Let's walk through each question to make sure our viewers understand what we mean. Nicole: Question one, when do I have to make this decision? This is like asking yourself when's the deadline? Roger: Yeah, and deadlines can be tough. Like when my friend called at the last minute with an extra ticket to a concert I really wanted to see, but I already had plans with another friend that night. I had to decide immediately because the concert was starting soon and he was going to give the ticket to somebody else if I bailed. I really wished I had had more time to make that decision. Nicole: So true. We face lots of decisions that have to be made in a split second whether we want more time or not.

Roger: Then there are decisions that seem to have lots of time for thought.

Nicole: Yeah, like I have four months before my applications are due for graduate school, so I don't have to make that decision immediately. In general, figuring out the deadline or how much time you have to think about a decision really helps.

Roger: But once you figure out your deadline, how do you determine exactly how much of the available

time to devote to working on a decision? Nicole: Actually, I like to use our good friend HIP to help me figure that out. I do a quick HIP check to see how significant the decision is, which then tells me how much time I should spend on it. Let's talk about the last question we should ask ourselves. When should we devote time to a decision? Like back to my Grad school apps. It may seem like I have a lot of time, but there's lots to do to prepare for that decision, like research the different schools , visit the ones I like, figure out costs. I mean it's quite a process, so I want to devote at least four solid weeks to it. Roger: Ah, but the question is which four weeks, right? Nicole: Yeah, exactly. I could put it off, but if I wait till the last minute, I might end up feeling rushed and if I do everything right now, then it might not be able to take advantage of unexpected information like any changes in faculty that might be announced later and would affect my choice. Narrator: On today's episode of it's your choice. Nicola and Roger discussed how a helpful frame includes paying attention to who is involved in a decision and how timing affects the decision. They covered how being clear on who is the ultimate decision maker and what roles others play can improve a decision. Considering how time plays into a decision helps keep you from rushing through important decisions or spending too much time on trivial ones. Remember, that important decisions often benefit from more time, so you’re prepared to make the best choice before the moment arrives.