The 8 Fundamental Principles of Decision Making

Christian A. Schröder
23 min readAug 23, 2023
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Summary: The impact of decisions builds up. If you make poor decisions, the results will be detrimental to your career and life in the long-run. If you make consistently good decisions, the positive impact on your life will be immense. But even though everyone is aware that decision-making is important, a consistent framework that guides the process is hard to find. That’s why I developed 8 fundamental principles of decision-making. These principles, which range from deciding based on expected value, considering second-order effects, and identifying bottlenecks, provide a principled approach to making high-quality decisions. Through examples from business and life, I’ll show you how to leverage their huge potential.

Introduction

Making quality decisions is the most important component of career success. If you read some of my stuff, you know that I believe making the right amount of good decisions on a daily basis is likely to lead to a 10x increase in success in just a year’s time.

But you might struggle to know what makes a good decision.

This article is an attempt to shine light on this difficult question: I lay down for you the 8 principles I use to make decisions every day, which I believe has led me to my success as an entrepreneur.

This framework has helped me not just in my career but in my personal life as well. Understanding how to maximize wellbeing, finding the right opportunities for personal growth, and having life-changing experiences, all boil down to making quality decisions.

I hope this framework helps you succeed in your personal and professional life as much as it helped me.

I’ll avoid suspense and list them straight away, but I suggest you read the full article to comprehend what each principle means and how best to enact them:

  1. Principle of Expected Value: Quantify the potential value/loss of each decision and decide based on which brings the most value.
  2. Principle of Ex-Post & Ex-Ante Perspective: The quality of a decision rests not on its outcome on a specific occasion, but on objectively studying the results of similar decisions in the past and the most-likely outcome before the outcome was known.
  3. Principle of the Best/Worst Outcome: If the worst possible outcome is bearable, then what’s the risk? If the best possible outcome is not worth it, then why even do it? This helps filter opportunities quicker.
  4. Principle of Marginal Costs/Gains: Do not use a 0-standpoint to quantify the costs and gains of your decisions, instead use the costs/gains of the alternative decision as your baseline.
  5. Principle of Opportunity Cost/BATNA: When making a choice, always consider what you are not choosing / your next best alternative (to ensure they aren’t better).
  6. Principle of Margin of Safety: Ensure your choices still leave you winning even if things go wrong.
  7. Bottleneck Principle: Focus on alleviating the aspect of your life which, by doing so, would make life exponentially easier/better for you.
  8. Principle of Second-Order Effects: Do not base your decisions on their immediate effects alone, instead consider their long-term impact on your life/the world.

The Importance of Decisions for Success

Success in life and business depends on the quality and speed of your decisions and their implementation.

Decisions shape our lives and careers. Picture a dinner conversation where three individuals — entrepreneurial founder, private equity partner, and accounting firm partner — are discussing a deal. Though equally intelligent, the amount of money they make from the deal differs dramatically. The reason? Decisions earlier made in their life.

Success is linked to actions following decisions. Well-executed actions yield desired results. Decisions, like success, aren’t linear — they compound.

Let me explain.

Small improvements in decision-making can lead to a significant performance increase over time. A clear example is sports, where exercising a little bit every day leads to immense results after a year, even though you cannot see them after the first day. The decision to wake up and go to the gym every morning leads to actions which yield the desired results.

Translating this to business, decisions drive start-up progress. Swift decisions are crucial, while delaying decisions halts growth. Think about Mark Zuckerberg’s mentality, “Move fast and break things”. This is the philosophy that symbolizes the huge impact of effective decision-making in business management.

Let’s understand the compounding effect of good decisions that lead to success (if the decisions are low quality, they’d lead to disaster in the long-run).

Just like compound interest, the results of our decisions can multiply and accelerate over time. Every decision we make sets the stage for future decisions and actions, creating a ripple effect that can shape our trajectory.

By continuously making better decisions, we create a positive feedback loop where each choice reinforces and amplifies the outcomes of the previous ones. This compounding effect can lead to exponential growth, propelling us toward greater success, achievements, and rewards. It highlights the importance of making good decisions consistently, as the cumulative impact can far exceed the sum of its individual parts.

By embracing the power of compound decisions, we can harness the momentum of positive choices and drive ourselves toward extraordinary results.

To capitalize on this insight, it is key to implement a framework for making quality decisions. A framework that’s both clear yet novel is very hard to find. Most things out there are either obscure or mainstream and lacking insight.

This article is just that framework. If you use it diligently and consistently, you’ll be able to leverage the compound effect of making quality decisions.

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1. Decide based on expected value

By calculating the expected value of a decision, you can make more informed decisions that better align with your objectives. Expected value is the anticipated benefit or loss that would result from each possible outcome, each weighed by its probability.

Consider this: you’re deciding whether to invest in a new project. It promises a 70% chance of $200,000 profit in 4 years (the positive expected value), but a 30% chance of $50,000 loss in 1 year (the negative expected value). Your expected value here needs to be calculated by taking into account the time value of money. Note that, in order to adopt a risk-averse attitude, it is more convenient to apply a larger discount to the positive expected value than to the negative expected value. This will also reflect the fact that large risks have a bigger impact over the long-term, as they take more time to materialize, than over the short term, where they don’t have a long time to materialize.

The positive outcome, which is a profit of $200,000 in 4 years, has a 70% chance of occurrence. Let’s apply a discount rate of 30% per year to positive outcomes. The present value of this profit can be calculated as follows:

Present Value of Profit = Future Value / (1 + discount rate) ^ number of years Present Value of Profit = $200,000 / (1 + 0.3) ^ 4 = $105,727

Now, compute the expected value of this positive outcome:

Expected Value of Profit = Probability of occurrence * Present Value Expected Value of Profit = 0.7 * $105,727 = $74,009

For the negative outcome, which is a loss of $50,000 in 1 year, it has a 30% chance of occurrence. With a discount rate of 10% for negative outcomes, the present value of this loss would be:

Present Value of Loss = Future Value / (1 + discount rate) ^ number of years Present Value of Loss = $50,000 / (1 + 0.1) ^ 1 = $45,454

Then, compute the expected value of this negative outcome:

Expected Value of Loss = Probability of occurrence * Present Value Expected Value of Loss = 0.3 * $45,454 = $13,636

To get the total expected value of the investment, subtract the expected value of the loss from the expected value of the profit:

Total Discounted Expected Value = Expected Value of Profit — Expected Value of Loss Total Discounted Expected Value = $74,009 — $13,636 = $60,373

Given the Total Discounted Expected Value is positive, the Principle of Expected Value suggests it may be a good idea to proceed with this investment, reflecting a wise, risk-averse decision.

This works not just for business decisions.

You’re at a crossroads one evening: should you attend a friend’s birthday party, stay up working, or simply get a good night’s sleep?

Assign values and probabilities to each choice. Going to the party might give you a 70% chance of enjoyment, valued at a ‘10’ for the socializing and potential memories made. But there’s a 30% risk of overindulgence and a bad hangover, which you value at a ‘-5’ for the potential next-day discomfort.

Working late has a 60% chance of accomplishing a significant task, worth a ‘7’ for the satisfaction and productivity, but a 40% risk of tiring yourself out without much progress, a ‘-3’ for potential frustration and exhaustion.

Opting for sleep gives you a guaranteed ‘6’ for a good rest and refreshed start to the next day.

Computing these (70%*10–30%*5 for the party, 60%*7–40%*3 for working, and a guaranteed 6 for sleeping), you can gauge the expected value of each option and decide accordingly.

The expected value for attending the party would be 7–1.5 = 5.5.

The expected value for working late would be 4.2–1.2 = 3.

And the expected value for sleeping is a guaranteed 6.

Given these calculations, the optimal choice, based on expected value, would be to get a good night’s sleep. This decision has the highest expected value of 6, suggesting it may offer the most benefit considering your current options and their potential outcomes.

Note however, that if you avoid drinking at the party, the 30% risk of overindulgence and a bad hangover drops, and you might end up with a higher expected value from going to the party sober.

2. Adopt an ex-ante and ex-post perspective

Incorporating both ex-ante and ex-post perspectives into your decision-making process provides insight into the expected value obtained from a decision. Following this principle allows us to judge the quality of a decision based not on its results but rather on the objective benefits that could have resulted from it.

Ex-ante means ‘before the fact’. It refers to the decision-making process before the event, considering the potential outcomes and their probabilities. An ex-ante perspective judges the quality of a decision based on expected value, rather than the actual value obtained after making it. Ex-post means ‘after the fact’, and it’s about reviewing historical/empirical data to measure the quality of a decision.

Combining both perspectives helps make informed, data-driven decisions, rather than decisions driven by emotion, gut feeling or ignorance.

Crucially, if you obtain a positive outcome by making a decision that was ex ante unlikely to yield good results, you shouldn’t feel smart or proud — the decision was still a poor one. Similarly, you shouldn’t feel sad about bad outcomes that were ex-ante good decisions. In the long run, people who make (ex-ante) good decisions will win. If you just focus on the results, you might become overconfident in your skills and foster poor decision-making skills in the future.

Consider an investor who, based on their ex-ante analysis, decides to put a substantial sum into a prosperous Ukrainian agri-tech startup. The investor’s decision is influenced by research into the company’s strong growth projections, the competence of the team, and trends in agri-tech, and the booming demand for high-efficiency farming methods.

However, signs of escalating tension and potential conflict in the region were present. Other investors, considering this geopolitical instability, had held off investing in the region. They reasoned that the inherent risk of war could severely disrupt business operations, leading to significant financial loss.

Within a year, conflict does break out in Ukraine. The startup’s operations, infrastructure, and supply chains are severely disrupted. The startup struggles to maintain its footing, and its stock value plummets, leading to substantial losses for the investor.

From an ex-post perspective, the decision was a bad idea. But, crucially, it was also questionable from an ex-ante perspective. Despite the startup’s promising prospects, the geopolitical instability was a significant risk factor that should have been factored into the decision-making process. A more accurate ex-ante analysis would’ve yielded the most likely outcome (i.e., conflict in Ukraine) before the outcome was known.

This example underscores the importance of considering all relevant factors in the ex-ante decision-making process, including broader geopolitical risks. A well-informed, comprehensive ex-ante analysis is crucial to making sound investment decisions.

The principle applies to personal decisions.

Imagine you have the opportunity to attend a $100 masterclass in creative writing offered by an up-and-coming writer you’ve followed for a while. The expected value of the decision is clearly immense. You have done an ex-ante analysis that shows the masterclass has had incredible reviews all across social media, you’ve read stuff written by those who attended the class and liked it, and you realize that it’s going to be an incredible opportunity to meet fellow creatives. You decide the $100 is worth it and attend the class, based on the ex-ante and ex-post analysis.

Now suppose that last minute the writer falls ill, and another writer steps in to give the class. It ends up being slightly underwhelming, and you don’t feel like you’ve really upscaled your writing. Again, ex-ante this would’ve been a good decision, even if ex-post it was bad.

The key insight of the Principle of Ex-Ante & Ex-Post Perspective is that the quality of a decision does not depend on its outcomes on a particular occasion, but on a thorough historical analysis about the outcomes of similar decisions across time.

3. Consider the best and worst possible outcome

By understanding the best-case and worst-case scenarios, you can decide when it’s worth giving something a shot (as the worst-case scenario might pose no serious risk), and when it’s not worth giving something a shot (as the best-case scenario might not be life-changing or significantly beneficial). This principle helps filter opportunities more quickly.

It’s important to map out the full range of potential outcomes, from the most positive to the most negative. Foresight aids you in recognizing risk and preparing for various situations. The key, however, is to clearly understand what the best and worst possible outcomes of a decision are.

Take a look at a business decision: You’re thinking of quitting your 9-to-5 job to venture into entrepreneurship, as you’ve been working on an innovative solution to facilitating international monetary transactions you think has the potential to turn into a unicorn. In the best-case scenario, you see yourself running a prosperous startup, enjoying the freedom of being your own boss, and reaping substantial work satisfaction by solving a problem that’ll simplify the life of many, including yourself. The worst-case scenario, on the other hand, could entail struggling to attract clients, losing some money, quitting the venture and finding a new job.

You might realize that the possible best case scenario is your dream. Simultaneously, the worst-case scenario is bearable. So, there’s no significant risk and it’s worth giving it a shot.

As a level 2 mitigation strategy to make the worst case scenario even more bearable and increase the attractiveness of making the decision, you can devise strategies to buffer the possible worst-case scenarios. For instance, you might start your entrepreneurial venture part-time while maintaining your day job. This allows you to test the waters, gauge interest in your product or service, and establish a client base before fully committing. This is a strategic way to mitigate the risk involved.

On the personal decision front, imagine you’re considering whether to travel to a weekend festival in Amsterdam. Your best-case scenario is having an awesome time with your friends and enjoying the music

The worst-case scenario might involve struggling to work the next week, missing an important meeting on Monday, and not enjoying yourself. You might think these are quite undesirable outcomes. Because the best-case scenario isn’t life-changing as you can find other ways to enjoy with your friends that pose less risk, you decide against the festival.

By contemplating the best and worst possible outcomes, you can decide which path is best for you.

Ultimately, the Principle of the Best/Worst Outcome can help you understand the potential upside/downside of a decision. You might be reluctant to take a step forward, but by realizing that the worst-possible outcome isn’t that bad, you might be motivated to take the step. Or, by realizing that the best-possible outcome isn’t that good, you might reconsider whether making the decision is really worth it.

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4. Adopt a view of marginal gain and cost

Adopting a view of marginal gain and cost means analyzing how benefits and costs change when making a different decision compared to an alternative, rather than making comparisons from a zero standpoint. It’s meant to help you obtain a more realistic evaluation of your options.

What would change if, instead of considering the absolute costs and benefits of a decision, we compared the incremental gains and costs against an alternative?

This might be clearer in the context of an example. Imagine you are looking to hire an employee. The first person has some experience in the field, they are eager to learn, and they seem to have potential. The second person has 10 years of experience, they have a track record of successes, and they are excellent innovators and team leaders. Suppose you’d pay the first $14,000 and the second $20,000 per month. Now the real cost of the second person when you adopt a marginal gain/costs view is $6,000, not $20,000, as you would have to hire someone anyway. When deciding who to hire, it’s the former figure that needs to be considered, rather than the latter.

Something that happened to me recently shows how I was able to decide based on the Principle of Marginal Costs/Gains.

I was deciding last week whether to spend Sunday night in Dublin or Dubai. Dublin’s hotel rate was €390 and Dubai was €150. Initially it seemed like Dubai was the better choice, because it was much cheaper. However, the marginal cost of Dublin was just €240. Moreover, I wanted to meet a friend in Dublin that evening. I realized €240 was fine. Intuitively, I would not have decided like this at a cost of €390, but this would have been the wrong reference point — the real price of going to Dublin was €240, which included paying for the hotel and a catch-up with my friend.

5. Consider opportunity costs and the next best alternative

Every choice we make carries an opportunity cost — the value of the most attractive foregone alternative (or the next best alternative). This principle urges you to weigh what you’re relinquishing when you commit to a decision.

“You can do anything in life, but not everything.” (David Allen)

The point of understanding the opportunity cost of any decision you make is to ensure that the cost isn’t more valuable than the outcome of your decision. For instance, if you are selling the company you founded to a larger incumbent, the opportunity cost is not attempting to continue growing your company according to your vision. If you are moving to a nicer place, the opportunity cost might be a car. If you are going out with friends, the opportunity cost might be not staying in and reading your favorite novel. You should always ask yourself: is the value of what I’m giving up truly less than the value of what I’m choosing? The opportunity cost is the next best alternative to your choice.

Imagine you’re offered an exciting new job opportunity. The company is renowned, the position is a step up, and the salary is tempting. However, it requires you to work in the office, instead of remotely as you currently do. At first glance, the new job seems like a no-brainer. But then, you consider the opportunity cost. By accepting this new job, you’d give up the flexibility and convenience of working remotely, and in turn, the hours of commuting time that you currently save. This time allows you to pursue your passion projects, exercise, spend quality time with your family, or simply unwind. Considering the opportunity cost makes you realize the value of your current setup.

Similarly, in a recent episode of The Everyday Investor Podcast, Darcy Ungaro questions Warren Buffett’s decision to hold $125 billion in cash due to the fact that it entails a massive opportunity cost. That means, what those $125 billion could be invested in, be that real estate, VC, or building a business, is the opportunity cost of having the money in cash. This is a good way to think about opportunity cost — whatever you are not investing in is the opportunity cost of having your savings in cash.

However it’s worth noting that Buffett is probably waiting for some bargains to materialize, i.e., the best opportunity, what he calls ‘elephants’. He is known for his elephant hunting, of which I wrote about in another article, and which shows his awareness of opportunity cost, and his capacity to recognize the ‘next best alternative’.

Understanding the concept of opportunity cost also involves contemplating your ‘next best alternative.’ This perspective challenges you to evaluate not just what you’re giving up, but also what other opportunities you could pursue if you chose differently.

Imagine you’re a tech company founder. You have a successful product. Your first thought is to make this product bigger and better. But, there’s also a new idea that could shake up the market.

The choice isn’t easy. Your current product is reliable and brings in money. The new idea is exciting, but it’s a risk. You take a step back and think about the ‘next best alternative’. What would happen if you ignored the new idea and just stuck with the old one?

You realize that by not developing the new idea, you’re missing out on the chance to be a true innovator in your field. So, you decide to take the risk and work on the new product. It’s a big decision, but looking at the opportunity cost, you know your ‘next best alternative’ is actually the better choice.

In “Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In”, Roger Fry and William Ury develop the concept of the ‘Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement’ (BATNA), which represents your next-best option if negotiations fail and an agreement cannot be made. Crucially, if the BATNA to a negotiation is better than the terms of the agreement, you should reject the agreement. If the terms of the agreement are better than the BATNA, you should accept the agreement. This is another way to think about the ‘next best alternative’ in the context of negotiations.

Using the Principle of Opportunity Cost can help you measure your decisions against a benchmark: the decisions you are not taking or the next best alternative. This way, you can ensure that you will never give up something great for something good, instead making the best quality decision.

6. Consider the margin of safety

Limiting downside risk is the core objective of incorporating a margin of safety in your decision-making process. It’s a protective measure to hedge against unexpected turns and estimation errors. It’s about making space for error, to shield you from negative impacts if circumstances don’t favor you.

This principle involves making assumptions that are more conservative than the most likely outcome to give you a cushion against negative surprises.

Suppose you’re a restaurant owner planning to open a new location. Based on data from your existing locations, you predict that the new outlet will generate $1 million in sales in the first year.

However, you know that many factors, such as local competition, construction delays, or changing market conditions, can affect these projections. So, instead of basing your budgeting and investment decisions on the $1 million estimate, you make it on a $800,000 estimate. If your business is still profitable at that lower price, then you have a margin of safety. This means that you should open the business, given the lower risk of losing money the margin of safety guarantees. Crucially, you will have a margin of safety, and hence should make the decision, if your investment is still profitable at $800,000.

This conservative approach reduces the risk of overextending your financial resources. By ensuring your business is profitable at even lower estimates than your initial ones, you mitigate the possibility of damage from potential losses.

Consider you’re in the market for a new home. You find a house that you love listed at $300,000. After conducting thorough research, you estimate the intrinsic value to be around $370,000. The discrepancy between the listed price and your estimated intrinsic value already gives you a margin of safety.

You could enhance this margin of safety further, by deciding to negotiate and bid only $270,000 for it. This increased margin of safety prepares you for potential risks such as sudden market downturns or potential repair costs that might not have been apparent initially. It safeguards you from overestimating the house’s intrinsic value and mitigates possible financial setbacks.

In a nutshell, the Principle of the Margin of Safety is about risk limitation. It’s about making estimations that provide a safety cushion against adverse events. Whether in personal endeavors or business, it’s an invaluable strategy to ensure you are always prepared for unexpected negative results.

7. Ask: what is the bottleneck?

The bottleneck principle is about identifying the constraint or limiting factor that is most impacting your ability to reach a goal. By focusing on alleviating this bottleneck, you can obtain a higher output with the same input. This is because very often, focusing on fixing one single thing can make your life exponentially easier/better.

To apply the bottleneck principle, start by clearly defining what the bottleneck is in your particular situation. It could be a resource, a skill, your mental health, or any other factor that acts as a constraint on progress. Pinpointing the bottleneck helps you direct your focus and resources toward resolving the core issue.

Let’s consider a business scenario to illustrate the importance of identifying bottlenecks in decision-making. Imagine a manufacturing company experiencing a significant delay in product delivery.

After careful analysis, the company realizes that the bottleneck lies in their supply chain management. Specifically, delays in sourcing raw materials are causing the production process to lag.

By recognizing this bottleneck, the company can take targeted actions such as negotiating better supplier contracts, optimizing inventory levels, or exploring alternative sourcing options.

Through these decisions, the company can overcome the bottleneck and improve their overall efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Now, let’s explore an example in life.

Recall the bottleneck is an aspect of your life which, by focusing on fixing it, can make your life exponentially easier/better.

Suppose your Excel is quite slow. You estimate you lose about 30 minutes a day just waiting for Excel to buffer. This also gets in the way of your meetings running smoothly, as when you need to present data on Excel you leave your interlocutors waiting. Investing in a computer will relieve this bottleneck and improve many aspects of your life.

Importantly, once you overcome a bottleneck, there will always be another one. Perhaps your excel runs smoothly, but you are struggling with anxiety, increased stress levels, and lack of quality time with your family. You decide to drive your kids to school every day on your way to work, instead of taking public transportation.

After this, you can find the next bottleneck. This is a never ending process of continuous improvement.

By directing your attention and resources toward alleviating the bottleneck, you become able to make the quality decisions that bring you closer to your goals.

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8. Consider second-order effects

Second-order effects are the impacts that result from the initial consequences of a decision. By considering these longer-term, indirect effects, you can make decisions that are more comprehensive and likely to result in the desired outcome.

Let’s examine two business scenarios to highlight the significance of considering second-order effects in decision-making:

a) Decision to start every work day with a 20-minute talk amongst colleagues to check on mental health and align goals.

The immediate effect of this decision may foster open communication, boost morale, and enhance teamwork. However, the second-order effects can be even more substantial. Over time, improved mental health and aligned goals can lead to increased productivity, higher employee satisfaction, and a positive work culture. The feedback loop from increasing a team’s morale is likely to exponentially grow its chances of success.

By recognizing and valuing these second-order effects, the decision to prioritize such conversations becomes a strategic move that benefits the organization in the long run.

b) Second-order effects of not being sufficiently clear about an employee’s mistakes and how to address them.

While it may seem easier to avoid confronting an employee about their mistakes to avoid upsetting them in the short term, the second-order effects can be disastrous.

If the employee’s errors are left unaddressed, they may continue to make similar mistakes, affecting their professional growth and potentially impacting the overall performance of the team or the organization.

By considering the long-term consequences and providing clear guidance and feedback, a more constructive and beneficial outcome can be achieved.

Now, let’s explore two personal examples that highlight the importance of considering second-order effects.

a) Decision to go out the night before an important exam or meeting.

The immediate reward of going out and enjoying oneself may seem appealing, as it might be an incredible opportunity to meet friends, it may reduce stress and provide a distraction from all the hard work preparing. It might not drastically affect performance.

However, one of the second-order effects of going out rather than preparing for your crucial event might be a dampening of your personal reputation. Once people start perceiving you as someone who is unable to prioritize effectively, this can significantly impact how they interact with you in both personal and professional settings. They may begin to question your decision-making skills, labeling you as unreliable or inconsistent.

Moreover, these perceptions could lead to more substantial, long-term consequences. For example, if colleagues or superiors perceive you as a poor decision-maker, they might hesitate to entrust you with significant responsibilities or leadership roles in the future. The potential impact on your career progression is a significant second-order effect that might not be immediately apparent but can substantially influence your professional trajectory.

b) Decision to go on a 30-minute run every morning.

The immediate reward of staying in bed and enjoying extra sleep is without a doubt huge.

However, considering the second-order effects reveals the long-term benefits of regular exercise, such as improved physical and mental health, increased energy levels, and enhanced overall well-being.

By acknowledging these indirect consequences and prioritizing long-term health and vitality, the decision to incorporate a morning run becomes a choice with enduring positive impacts.

When making decisions, it is crucial to contrast the allure of immediate rewards with the potential second-order, third-order, and subsequent consequences. By enacting the Principle of Second-Order Effects, you can become motivated to make those decisions which, even if harder, are likely to be more rewarding in the long run.

Conclusion

Armed with these 8 fundamental principles, you will increase the quality of your decisions, which is guaranteed to bring you closer to your personal and professional goals.

Decisions shape our lives, and the compounding effect of good decisions can propel us towards exponential growth and success.

By understanding the importance of decisions and recognising the power of compound decision-making, you can create a positive feedback loop that amplifies the outcomes of each choice.

Most people are aware of the life-changing importance of decision-making. But a clear framework on how to make good decisions is hard to find. Implementing a framework for decision-making is key to a principled approach. This article provides you with precisely that framework — developed through my personal experience and designed to maximize the quality of your decisions.

Remember, success is not solely determined by intelligence or circumstances — it hinges on the quality and speed of your decisions. With each decision you make, you have the opportunity to shape your trajectory and create a future that exceeds your expectations.

I hope these 8 fundamental principles will propel you towards a path of continuous growth, success, and fulfillment, in the same way they have helped me.

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Christian A. Schröder

Founder & CEO of 10x Value Partners. One of the world’s most successful angel investors. Follow me to learn my secrets.