Existential and irreversible

A wise someone shared how he invests effort into decision making. He plots decisions on a 2×2 graph that effectively asks 2 questions –

  1. Is this decision existential (i.e. is it a decision that kill your business)?
  2. Is this decision irreversible?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then we need to as much energy and resources as required. If the decision is reversible, on the other hand, we can always choose to test it, gather data and change it. Of course, the cost of the test would vary depending on how existential it is.

We add value by making decisions. And, a first step is being able to understand which decisions deserve the attention and which do not.