The Changing Decision Making Process

I have two (going on three) small children. One of the most important skills I hope they develop is the ability to make good decisions. Lord knows that I've made my share of bad decisions. I often wonder how different my life would have been had I made better choise along the way. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my life, I just feel like I could have taken a more smooth ride to get here. And yet, despite my shaky qualifications, I will be partially responsible for teaching my children how to make good decisions.

Obvisouly I've been talking as much about life choices as much as decision making, but the same holds true for small, eveyday decisions. But here's the thing - the decision making process in this country is changing. Quite literally, how the population of this country reaches conclusions on many things from purchasing decisions to relationship decisions.

I've witnessed this first-hand in my own home. My household has completely changed how we make a purchase decision. We hardly make a purchase (of any significance, of course) without consulting online product reviews or user comments. In fact, my wife based every single Christmas gift purchase on product reviews and comments. Said another way, we only bought gifts that received good reviews. That is a pretty powerful statement.

What's driving this change? Simply put, it's Web 2.0. It's the interactive nature and feeling of connectedness with other people facing the same decisions - even if they are small, everyday decisions. It's the sense of community with others who have common interests. We both draw from these communities and participate therein.

The biggest challange, and of course the biggest reward, will go to those who are able to figure out how to integrate this change into their business models and use it to their advantage.