So, You’re Behavioral

Here are some tools you can use to best harness your socially-driven thinking!

You’re a socially-driven person.

You need a process that harnesses your ability to get good advice. Choose something that allows you to seek out the wisdom of others, while also pushing you to double-check the decisions yourself. Ideally, your process allows you to learn from experts and friends while also supporting critical thinking.


Here’s a good approach that might work best for your socially-driven thinking style.

Deliberative Decision-Making

In order to use your socially savvy brain while also supporting critical thinking, using a model like the Deliberative Decision-Making model helps. This style emphasizes gathering information and potential solutions from others and evaluating the consequences of those solutions. This utilizes your ability to seek wisdom from others while ensuring a logically sound choice.

  1. First, we Identify the problem. Be specific about what needs to be decided.

  2. Gather your potential options. Research your potential options. You can seek input and advice from others, or gather relevant data to inform your decision.

  3. Evaluate the options. Analyze the pros and cons - considering the consequences for everyone involved.

  4. Consult with others. Seek input and feedback from experts, family, and friends that have been in similar situations.

  5. Evaluate the potential outcomes and make a choice!

It’s important to note that this process isn’t about getting the right answer as soon as possible, but instead taking time to evaluate your options and making a smart decision.

Does it really work?

The Deliberative Decision-Making Model is most commonly used in business, but its foundations hold true in most difficult decision-making situations.

What are some studies that support this?

  • This 2008 article studied how the Pareto distribution applied to the amount of people driving most of the sales at a convenience store. It noted that the distribution followed this principle, where about 20% of the customers accounted for 80% of the stores sales. Imagine how effective the store could be if it focused on that 20%!

  • This article written in 2000 noted the same pattern, but in the software industry. Oftentimes, roughly 20% of modules caused 80% of the software’s operational faults - showing the importance of tackling that pesky 20 percent.

Some Resources

Here are some tools you can use to best utilize your analytical thinking and make the hard decisions a little bit easier