Zachary Collier
Being Thankful
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and so for something a bit different, I thought I would write up some thoughts about gratitude. One thing that...
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Zachary Collier
- Nov 14, 2018
- 2 min
Sometimes Good Enough is the Best Strategy
In many aspects of life, we strive to optimize – we want to get the best deal, pay the least amount for something, finish first place in...
Zachary Collier
- Nov 8, 2018
- 3 min
Four Strategies to Respond to Risks
As I have written about in earlier posts, risks are a part of life. Especially in business, where companies must take calculated risks in...
Zachary Collier
- Oct 31, 2018
- 3 min
Good Decisions Don’t Grow on Trees
You probably would say that you make good decisions, and would probably be hard-pressed to find somebody who admitted to being a bad...
Zachary Collier
- Oct 24, 2018
- 3 min
Making Trade-offs When You Have Multiple Objectives
I remember the first decision model that I ever built. It was when I was a kid, and I had this racing video game for the Nintendo. In it,...
Zachary Collier
- Oct 17, 2018
- 3 min
Scarcity, Opportunity Costs, and Decision Making
When it comes to understanding decision making, perhaps the most fundamental concept is that of opportunity cost. It is one of the most...
Zachary Collier
- Oct 10, 2018
- 3 min
Balancing Risk and Reward
Businesses have to take risks. There is no such thing as a risk-free business. Demand for a company’s goods or services might suddenly...
Zachary Collier
- Oct 3, 2018
- 3 min
Can You Validate a Decision?
Sometimes when I am out speaking about decision making, I get asked whether or not you can validate a decision. The short answer is, “not...
Zachary Collier
- Sep 26, 2018
- 3 min
Thinking about the Future with Scenarios
The last several posts have been about uncertainty - the situation where we lack complete knowledge. In reality, not all uncertainty is...
Zachary Collier
- Sep 20, 2018
- 4 min
Placing a Value on Information
In the previous blog post, we talked about uncertainty, and how it makes decisions more difficult. We often have to make the best...
Zachary Collier
- Sep 13, 2018
- 3 min
The Role of Uncertainty in Decision Making
One of the biggest reasons why decision making is difficult is because of uncertainty. If we could peer into a crystal ball and see the...
Zachary Collier
- Sep 6, 2018
- 2 min
How to Plan when Everything Keeps Changing
In order to succeed and grow, businesses must create plans. A good plan is vital to directing the long-term trajectory of an...
Zachary Collier
- Aug 30, 2018
- 2 min
What Makes a Good Metric?
Last week I participated in a two-day planning meeting attended by industry, government, and academia for a new research center related...
Zachary Collier
- Aug 23, 2018
- 3 min
Risk – What is it? Why is it Important?
The term “risk”, more so than many other technical terms, seems to cause a lot of confusion. This might be due to the nature of the...
Zachary Collier
- Aug 16, 2018
- 3 min
How to Improve the Quality of Your Decision Making
In the previous blog post, we explored how making good decisions can lead to good outcomes. In this entry, we will dive deeper into...
Zachary Collier
- Aug 9, 2018
- 3 min
How Do You Know Whether You Made a Good Decision?
We all make decisions every day. Most of these decisions are small – what to eat for breakfast, what color shirt to wear to work, etc....