Decision Making Quotes

How many of us persist in a precipitate course which, but for a moment of heedlessness we might never have entered upon, simply because we hate to change our minds.

we need to make a few critical decisions in major areas of life and then manage those decisions day to day.

If everybody trusts one another, then the person who didn't prevail will faithfully execute the decision as if it was their idea.

When I talked to [Donald Trump] about - our intelligence agencies, what I've said to him is - is that there are gonna be times where you've got raw intelligence that comes in and in my experience, over eight years, the intelligence community is pretty good about saying, "Look, we can't say for certain what this means." But there are gonna be times where the only way you can make a good decision is if you have confidence that the process is working, and the people that you put in charge are giving you their very best assessments.

Follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.

Oh!” said she, “I heard you before, but I could not immediately determine what to say in reply. You wanted me, I know, to say ‘Yes,’ that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste; but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt. I have, therefore made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all--and now despise me if you dare.” “Indeed I do not dare.

Leaders shouldn?t attach moral significance to their ideas: Do that, and you can?t compromise.

Once the Choice is Made, Do Not Look Back, Do Not Second-Guess Your Decisions

I think one of the basic reasons men make good friends is that they can make up their minds quickly.

It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.

I examine the consequences later, when a new situation arises and I then face the new situation. And that's it.

My own experience is that you get as much information as you can and then you pay attention to your intuition, to your informed instinct.

It"s good to keep wide-open ears and listen to what everybody else has to say, but when you come to make a decision, you have to weigh all of what you"ve heard on its own, and place it where it belongs, and come to a decision for yourself; you"ll never regret it. But if you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself, you"ll find that other people will have you hating your friends and loving your enemies.

I have three boxes on my desk: In, Out, and Too Hard.

What would you do if you were President, and, on the first day of May, the Russian Ambassador presented you with a beautiful cake which emitted a curious ticking noise? Would you plunge it into a pail of water - thus insulting Soviet cuisine in general?

There is no working middle course in wartime.

As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you - the first time around.

Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.

Wisdom consists in being able to distinguish among dangers and make a choice of the least harmful.

Make a decision and then make the decision right. Line up your Energy with it. In most cases it doesn't really matter what you decide. Just decide. There are endless options that would serve you enormously well, and all or any one of them is better than no decision.

Opportunity never sneaks up on those who straddle the fence of indecision.

You cannot make progress without making decisions.

You cannot manage a decision you haven't made.

When you live your life acting upon your deepest intuitions, no decision you ever make in life will be feared or a risk.

Do what you know you ought to do. Why should we ever go abroad, even across the way, to ask a neighbor's advice? There is a nearerneighbor within us incessantly telling us how we should behave. But we wait for the neighbor without to tell us of some false, easier way.

When you're having trouble making a decision you're making it too soon.

I let the argument rip healthily between the departments. This is a very good way to finding out the truth.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned recently is that when you don't know what to do, you should do nothing until you figure out what to do because a lot of times you feel like you are pressed against the wall, and you've got to make a decision. You never have to do anything. Don't know what to do? Do nothing.

Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.

Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.

Once a decision is reached, stop worrying and start working.

It is often necessary to make a decision on the basis of knowledge sufficient for action but insufficient to satisfy the intellect.

Take counsel in wine, but resolve afterwards in water.

The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear.

Where do I go from here?

I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business.

Decision-making is lonely.

The United States abd usually be reiled on to do the right thing, but only after they have tried all the other alternatives.

There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.

You say this victory is dangerous. I say that today no one can yet tell if it's dangerous, that today I don't see the risks you mention. If, however, those risks should become reality...I'll act in accordance with the new reality.

And how do you know when you're doing something right? How do you know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know. The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead.

Some mistakes will be made along the way. That's good. Because some decisions are being made along the way. We'll find the mistakes. We'll fix them.

Men have no confidence in an officer who doesn't know his own mind.

I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do.

The days of the 'intuitive' manager are numbered.

In countries where innocent people are dying, the leaders are following their blood rather than their brains.

Well, one time some attractive woman sat next to Charlie and asked him what he owed his success to, and, unfortunately, she insisted on a one word answer. He had a speech prepared that would have gone on for several hours. But when forced to boil it down to one word, he said that was "rational". You know, he comes equipped for rationality, and he applies it in business. He doesn't always apply it elsewhere, but he applies it in business and that has made him a huge business success.

He who has a task to perform must know how to take sides, or he is quite unworthy of it.

There are times where I'd say the Oval Office, you use to gather the facts. The decisions you probably make late at night, or at least I do. But there are some times where you think you've made a decision, but during that walk, where you're announcing the decision, you've just got to make sure that, you're prepared to live with it, because as you know George, a lot of these decisions are not - the outcomes are uncertain.

In the military, we are also taught to only use one third of the available decision-making time, so that our subordinates have time to go through their own decision processes when they learn what we want them to do.

When you're testing to see how deep water is, never use two feet.

Let the views of others educate and inform you, but let your decisions be a product of your own conclusions.

When it comes to forks in the road, your heart always knows the answer, not your mind.

Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired. Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.

There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.

Don't labor forever over the question of how or if you can do it. Studies have shown that the most successful people make decisions rapidly because they are clear on their values and what they really want for their lives.

When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.

You always have a choice. It's just that some people make the wrong one.

It's very important that the determination of the US Congress to do what is is needed be made evident this week and by the actions of most of the members. I mean, you're not going to get total assent.

I learned very early in my life never to take counsel in my fears.