Step XVI ... Willingness to decide RIGHT yet unpopular

In modern times perhaps the greatest potential hurdle facing any professional decision-maker is social acceptance. We all want to make Right decisions, but we also wish to avoid becoming flogged by potential rivalry in so doing! No one typically enjoys much being an "odd ball" or the bearer of bad news! Normally, if we anticipate any potential hostility in our immediate social environments to a novel idea, we typically refrain in expressing it, even though that idea may itself be entirely the Right thing to do. Self-preservation goes a long way at explaining some rather uncanny decision-making documented in human history (the decision-makers in question having likely lived long lives as a direct consequence [how embarrassing it is to bluntly admit!]). The modern solution to this old problem of course is a common education among all members of our present-day populace, coupled with some additional precautionary and/or security measures on the side … just to make sure!

Security issues aside, in modern times fear of embarrassment is the most likely motivator prompting such evasive behavior. Sometimes individuals choose to avoid acknowledging responsibility for even their very own actions, merely out of fear of social ridicule! Nevertheless, always must we openly acknowledge our own personal mistakes. We are all human! We all make mistakes! Never must we allow our thoughts to become so absorbed in our preservation of public image that we ignore considerations of Right (Responsibility, Safety, Compassion). Once an error is openly acknowledged, everyone may then work together to rectify it and prevent similar mistakes from reoccurring in the future. Candidly acknowledging your own personal shortcomings now will always lead to greater outcomes later ... rather than getting caught concealing the coffee!

Thinking is Progress!

Once you realize that humans progress only so long as we take the time to THINK about what we are doing so as to search for a better (best) way, you will then become better equipped to decide the RIGHT yet unpopular. The next step to aspire to, of course, is actually exerting the required effort that may be needed at times to recognize the RIGHT option, perhaps running contrary to the status in quo. Hopefully, this web site may help to provide you with the appropriate mental tools to use for recognizing and enforcing such an option.

Step XVII ... Analysis for Error:   What to do if things don't go as planned?

Don't think you made any mistakes up to this point? Think again!

Plan on having ready at least one backup course of action ... just in case your first try doesn't quite work out the way that you had expected it to. To ascertain that no one misunderstands or misinterprets your final decision, what could you do, discuss or check into? Also, what could you do to monitor the situation, as a safeguard, in the event that you may have overlooked some important consideration?

Pause for a moment to reflect on all the blunders recorded in human history ... professional blunders, made by persons / organizations / institutions / states / nations who should have known better!

Research the subject to discover what others before you have done to solve the same or a similar problem and the associated outcome(s) of their decision(s). Chances are that you are thinking now along the same lines that they did before, and they may be able to point out something that you haven't yet considered, thereby helping you avoid having to learn through a similar series of mistakes.

Remember to take the time to record who tells you what and when. This information will definitely prove itself handy to you later when you discover that you would like to ask some particular person just a few more questions that you hadn't contemplated before. These records could certainly later become important items of legal reference as well.

Step XVIII ... If you have time, Research Some More

If you have the time, maybe History (World or otherwise) can help.... Could, perhaps, a dose of historical research yield some idea or viewpoint previously unconsidered?

REMEMBER: Your greatest adversary is Time. Fight him fiercely.

The more research and effort that you exert into finding the most prudent decision to your problem, the more knowledgeable you will become at solving it and analyzing it from many different perspectives.

Don't stop using your imagination to search for that yet undiscovered truth or your analytical abilities to weigh each option or alternative and study every facet of every possible solution.

Time won't stand still. Your final decision will eventually have to be made, and you will consequently bear all the responsibility for the outcome(s).

Step XIX ... If you have the resources, Consider Professional Assistance

Lawyers, doctors, engineers, businessmen, civic groups, ... can all help. Perhaps you are overlooking certain legal, medical or other pragmatical considerations to be accounted for before a final decision is made.

Recognize also that greater competence implies a broader outlook over the particular situation and, subsequently, a smaller likelihood for potential error. Seek professional advice wisely.

Because your own personal perceptions and beliefs over the particular matter at hand may not be completely accurate or valid, consulting a highly competent professional who has considerably more knowledge and experience with the subject may provide you with an alternate perspective that you had not previously considered. Or, perhaps he or she could provide you with some new information that you had previously overlooked or otherwise somehow failed to recognize, thereby altering your own personal perception of and/or beliefs surrounding the situation.

Perhaps give City Hall a call. Remember to bring a pen and pad with you (or voice recorder, etc.) to jot things down!

Step XX ... Your Final Decision

More than likely you will come to recognize certain constraints that are defining your decision: legal, ethical, moral, financial, physical, perhaps even social.

So, your final decision may be divided in two:

• What you could do (or would like to do) if you had more resources, more time or fewer constraints.
• What you will do (or must settle on doing) with the resources, time and constraints that are limiting your choices.

This is where you must be practical about the decision that you are making.

Some constraints may bind you to considering specific, less desirable solutions, and you will have to decide whether you can live with the possible outcome(s) that are associated with those "second-rate" solutions.

Quoting UBC Professor Michael McDonald, in A Framework for Ethical Decision-Making: Version 6.0:

This means accepting responsibility for your choice. It also means accepting the possibility that you might be wrong or that you will make a less than optimal decision. The object is to make a good choice with the information [and resources available in the time] available, not to make a perfect choice. Learn from your failures and successes.⁷

See Final Remarks next page >>

All opinions expressed in this web site, unless otherwise noted, are my own, Michael Gaspard. If you notice any errors or have any suggestions for improvement, please let me know by e-mailing webmaster@mdpme.com. Thank you!

This web page was last updated on Monday, February 2, 2004.
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