Making Decisions: Focus on What Matters

When making decisions, it’s easy to get distracted by factors that seem appealing but don’t really matter. Recently, I was forced to choose new headphones after mine were stolen while traveling. Now, admittedly, this is a bummer. However, there were some things about these headphones that I didn’t really like, Primarily that on longer flights after a while, they really hurt my ears.

Being the avid researcher that I am, I narrowed the search down to two great options.

One was more comfortable, and the other had slightly better sound quality. Then I caught myself focusing on an irrelevant factor—the color. In reality, it’s all about my comfort, maybe somewhat about sound, and it is not at all about how they look.

This experience got me thinking about how often irrelevant factors sneak into bigger decisions. Whether you’re hiring or making strategic choices, it’s crucial to stick to the criteria that really matter. For example, if you’re hiring a new employee, irrelevant factors might pop up, like personal circumstances, that have no real impact on their job performance.

My advice is before you make a decision and before you’re even doing those interviews, first make a list of what the most important criteria are and then you can look for it.

And stay focused on those factors. Don’t let irrelevant distractions sway you. Whether it’s comfort and sound for headphones or skillsets and commitment for new hires, focus on what truly counts.

Read more: Leaning Into Risk When Making Decisions