{"id":48151,"date":"2021-09-05T16:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-05T20:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=48151"},"modified":"2021-09-07T16:51:43","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T20:51:43","slug":"decision-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/decision-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Need a Decision Group and How to Form One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is a decision group? How can it strengthen your decision-making<\/a> skills?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinking in Bets<\/em> author Annie Duke cites decision groups as a key part of her growth as a poker player, especially when she was first starting out. Having a group of people to help you make better decisions<\/a> is important, and Duke shares how you can find and engage with such a group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more to learn about decision groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Working With a Decision Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Duke argues why decision groups are important and explains how you find such a group. She shares how you set up group guidelines<\/a>, mutually agreeing to interrogate your own and each other’s decisions in a way that you wouldn’t usually do in most social settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Do You Need a Decision Group?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Self-critique is an important skill, but other people can help you see your blind spots.<\/strong> They bring their own unique life experiences to the table and give you the chance to view ideas from angles you hadn’t considered before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, you need to find someone who\u2019s willing to have those discussions with you. Not every person wants to have their decisions or beliefs picked apart\u2014to be asked to bet on their level of certainty. If you try to engage in that kind of \u201cbetting\u201d with someone who hasn’t agreed to it, all you’re likely to do is create an awkward situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about it: If a friend loses a game and complains about their bad luck after, they\u2019re more likely to be looking for sympathy than for someone to ask, \u201cWell, what moves did you make? Where do you think you went wrong?\u201d And if they come to you boasting about a win, chances are they\u2019re looking for a pat on the back and not a back-and-forth about what they could have done better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t force someone to participate; they have to volunteer for it. <\/strong>People have to want to learn. That\u2019s why forming a group around good decision-making practices is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do You Form a Decision Group?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Duke calls the group of people who help you vet your decisions a “truthseeking pod” or “decision pod.” You can find these people among family, friends, or colleagues, or seek them out in professional groups or organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This all sounds very formal. It doesn\u2019t have to be. It can be as simple as an experienced poker player telling Duke, when she was first starting out, that she was free to discuss strategy with him but he wouldn\u2019t indulge self-pity about bad luck. This was the same sentiment she found among a group of players her older brother (who also went on to be a professional with millions of dollars in poker earnings) introduced her to. Members of that group had a shared understanding that being good players meant continually examining their strategies, their decisions, and their outcomes\u2014and helping each other do the same.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a group, everyone is a willing participant and expects certain behaviors from the others. You can establish a norm of challenging each other\u2019s beliefs and biases. Make helping each other improve a shared goal. Whether this group forms organically or if it\u2019s deliberately set up with written rules, there needs to be an explicit agreement about how you engage with one another. <\/strong>You\u2019re interacting in ways that are outside typical social norms<\/a>, so group guidelines need to be clear. But if you can gather or join that group of like-minded people, you can help each other grow together much faster than any of you would have managed to grow on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Qualities of an Effective Decision Group<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What are the qualities of a good group, when it comes to learning from each other? How do you avoid ending up in an echo chamber, with people who just reinforce each other’s existing ideas\u2014or, alternately, people who are so opposed to each other\u2019s viewpoints that they\u2019ll dissolve into pointless arguments? The qualities of a productive decision group are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n