Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice. At Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza this week, I ordered a salad. Everyone at our table did. Then the waiter waved a Barbecue Chicken pizza in my face as he refilled my drink and I realized my error. Still, I had the option of changing my order but when I weighed the expected caloric cost against the flavor benefit, I punted.
In business, decisions have to be more rational. We have to base our choices on things like net present value, return on investment, life cycle cost estimates, etc. Interestingly, in a research study just completed by the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina Charlotte (Cask helped distribute the survey among our partners and clients), IT project leaders made choices based on their risk tolerance, not on rational factors. Which does not always lead to the best result. But then again, that is really how we usually make most decisions – with our gut, and then justify them with our head.
Next time at Sammy’s I will check my head at the door and demand pizza.