WRONG DECISIONS

There is a famous saying,beginning. At t6, you got input from one of the
"All is well that ends well."sources as mentioned above which resulted in
So even if I teach you the art of making wiseexpansion of options and may be change in the
decision, there is a chance that your decision will endpreference too. Again with the passage of time
up in a failure. But if you master this art, it will helpmany options will appear redundant clearly. Just
you in reducing the factor of making wrong decision.before t8, we would be having less number of
The model, which I will explain, is "Adaptive" in nature.options with preference and finally at t8, we will take
If you have Electrical Engineering background youthe decision by selecting option 1 as "most optimal"
must be familiar with "Adaptive Filter". For Laymansolution for the problem.
consider "Adaptive Filter" as a machine having ideallyAlways remember the solution you will end up with
zero efficiency the time it was designed but onceat t8 would be the best possible solution ever
you put that machine in a real working environmentpossible utilizing all your mental power and available
its efficiency will increase and a time will come whensources. Following this model will help you in reducing
it would be working ideally at 100% efficiency.the factor of ending up in a wrong decision.
Regular machines are designed for specificAt t1 This is the time when you encounter the
environment but adaptive machines are designed forproblemt1 - t2 Analyze/Understand the problem
all environment. Regular machines efficiency is ideallyJust Before t2 Engrave the "Target/Goal". Write
100% and it deteriorates with the passage of timedown all possible sources of Input to the model
where as the adaptive machines efficiency is ideallyAt t2 Start writing down all the possible solutions.
0% and it increases with the passage of time.Give them preference.t2 - t3 Preferences may
Efficiencychanget4 Some options will appear unwanted
Timeclearlyt5 Preferences may changet5 - t6 May get
The art I am going to explain to you is based on twoinput from other sourcest6 Start writing down all the
thingspossible solutions. Give them preference.t6 - t7
- Adaptive-Decision-Making-Model (ADMM)Preferences may changet7 - Just Before t8 Squeeze
- Optimizing the working of Brainthe options by dropping the least preferred
This art is applicable to every walk of life whereversolutionst8 Most Optimal Solution
this is decision making is involved or getting the mostOnce you have the optimal solution, the next step is
optimal solution for a problem. Before moving ahead Ioptional i.e. Once we have the most optimal solution,
want to explain what's meant with "optimal solution".the next step is to divide the solution into "modules"
Back in school days, from mathematics I have learntand for each module write down the steps of
that every problem has one answer (solution),implementation.
simplest example would be 2+2 is always equal to 4.Depending upon the problem you may have to follow
Contrary to this concept, in real life one problemADMM again for each module. Like I said, time line
might be having numerous solutions. Let me give youcould be of 1 hour or 1 year depending upon the
the analogy of computer programming. If you havecomplexity of problem and the time duration you
to achieve certain target, you can do it by writinghave, end of which you have to take decision.
5000 lines of code. An experienced programmer canOptimizing the working of Brain
achieve the same target by writing less lines of codeTo get the most out of ADMM we have to optimize
e.g. 4500 or even 2000. So for every problem in realthe working of our brain and to do so we have to
life there could be numerous solutions and our job isfirst understand the logical architecture of brain.
to pick the most "Optimal Solution". And selecting the- Understanding the logical architecture of brain
most optimal solution is called "wise decision making"- Working of brain
Adaptive-Decision-Making-Model (ADMM)- Best Practices
When a average person encounters a problem he willHuman beings are supreme creations amongst all the
take the decision right at the spot utilizing thecreations of God. They are considered supreme
knowledge he has in his mind. On the other hand, anbecause of the architecture or more precisely the
intellectual person will handle the problem in thelogical architecture of the brain that we have is
following manner:different from His other creations. Human Brain the
- He will first analyze/understand the problem. Then,center for activities, emotions, relations, reactions,
he will write down the target. Writing down theanxieties, happiness, grief, in short everything, is the
target is very important and that's why I would likecenter processing unit in a body. Its just like
to use the word "engrave" rather than "write down".microprocessor of the body. The physical architecture
So, he will, "engrave the target/goal on a rock."of all human beings resembles but its the logical
- Then he will try to figure out the time frame hearchitecture which makes one Einstein and other me.
has to solve the problem.The following picture give you the logical architecture
- Then he will lay down all the possible sources heof the Brain. I made this picture with the best of the
has to solve the problem, for example if he is anknowledge and experience I have in my mind.
Electrical Engineer and he has been given the task toI felt it necessary because someone was right when
design some circuit, the possible sources of input forhe said, "A picture is better than thousand words." In
him will be:the following lines I am going to explain the picture or
- His Own Knowledgein other words the logical architecture of brain.
- His ProfessorsAs I mentioned before, the physical architecture of
- Classmates/Colleagueshuman brains resembles i.e. two hemispheres packed
- Internetwith winding/curly tubes. On the other hand the
- Books, etc.logical architecture of brain can be divided into
He will then follow the ADMM to end up in "mostfollowing three sections
optimal solution" during that time frame.1. Database Inside Brain
Note the following are optional steps:2. Processes
- Next he will divide the solution to modules and for3. Sources of Input to Brain
each module he will write the steps ofEvery person has data/information residing in his/her
implementation. For dividing the optimal solution intobrain and by the time child comes into the universe
modules or steps of implementation he may followits size was very small but with the passage of time
the ADMM again.its size increases. In this database the information is
- Next, he will assign those modules & steps ofresiding in the form of "Categories".
implementation to related departments.A person who is an electrical engineer, his category
- The manager of each department will give himof electrical engineering information must be having
feedback regarding the progress. There are lots oflots of pages compared to his knowledge about
web based project management tools using thosemedical stuff. Similar if a person is a doctor, his
the project director can watch the progress of thecategories of medical information must be having lots
modules assigned to each department as theof data in it compared to his knowledge about
managers of those departments are constantlyelectrical stuff. Similarly, we all have certain categories
updating the progress. As it is web based so no onein common e.g. food categories. Every one has data
has to move from his chair and it is universallyrelating to food in their mind like taste of different
accessible.fruits, smell of different dishes, deserts, recipes of
I have also heard people saying, "There is no solutionmake different food etc.
to this problem." Or "That's the only solution to thisOne interesting category in database is 'Experience'.
problem." I always explains to my students thatThere are many things we learn through experience;
"There is no 'No' to anything."also we get the experiences from the life of other
If you don't know something doesn't mean it doesn'tpeople. Its because of this category that a person
exist. And, if you are a solution provider, always addwho did PhD in any field might end up in a wrong
one statement at the end of your solution, "That'sdecision compared to his father who did just BS but
the best I can give with the knowledge I posses." Ifhas experience more than the PhD guy's age. This
you don't want to write it down, keep this in mind.reminds me something, once an author said,
The smiley as shown in the diagram represent"By the time a man realizes that his father was right,
problems. These problems could be anything relatinghe usually has a son who thinks that he is wrong."
to any aspect of life. Lets suppose we got the firstAlways remember that in the implementation of
problem at time t1. The first thing we have to doADMM one of the great sources of input would be
when we encounter a problem is to understand thethe old/experienced people around you.
problem. As shown in the figure we are spendingProcesses on the other hand helps in the
time (t1 to t2) in analyzing the problem. This durationimprovement/update, addition & deletion of
could be 1 minute or 1 month depending upon theinformation in the database based on all sources of
complexity of the problem.inputs that are coming to the brain from all these five
Once you have understood what the problem is, thesense mentioned in the diagram e.g. experience
next step is to write down the problem in words andprocess helps in the improvement and addition of
the possible sources of input to the model. At t2, useinformation in the 'Experience' category in the brain.
your own knowledge to generate all possible solutionsOne of our best practices is to increase the size of
for that problem and give them preference. First, willthis database by consuming all the inputs we have
be what you consider the optimal solution at t2. Howand my suggestion would be to make the most use
truly someone has said,of "ear" than "tongue". The cause of many problems
"Let the ball rolling."is "tongue" and once an author said,
"Lets see how the cat jumps.""The tongue says: you take me out of mouth and I
"Let the time take the decision."will take you out of xyz."
With the passage of time many options will appearIf you are married and if your wife owns the home
redundant clearly. So at t4 you set of options willin which you are living than you can replace 'xyz' with
squeeze down to three also you must have noticedthe word 'home'.
that the preference is not the same as it was in the