How to Avoid Focusing on Irrelevant Information When Making a Decision

Leaders sometimes think putting all the facts and data on the table will clarify the problem and make an obvious decision clear. It doesn’t. It sometimes makes it worse. 

When it comes to the intersection of decision-making and information, more is not necessarily better. Considering the right information, not just more of it, makes the critical difference. 

Research has shown that even small amounts of irrelevant or surplus information can derail the ability to make quality decisions. It’s not that people are overwhelmed with too much information as much as knowing what information should carry the most weight. The more information to consider, the more likely it is that irrelevant or less important information will unduly influence the process. 

An important first step is to decide exactly what information is needed. Do this even before embarking on the process of collecting information. Also key, make a predetermination of what is unnecessary to know.

For instance, consider the process of selecting a new team member from a pool of talented candidates. What does the team want and need to know to make a quality decision? The list might include experience, track record, references, values, and clues about their ability to fit into the team. We might also assume that high school grades, books recently read, and political views are largely irrelevant or unimportant for selecting the best candidate. 

But what happens when information about grades, reading preferences, or political views is collected and entered into the equation about whom to select? Does having that additional information aid or distract the team from making a quality decision? 

What are the odds that learning about bad grades, the reading of comic books, or having a particular political affiliation will derail the decision-making process when one or more team members become fixated on what that fact really means or gives it undue weight? 

Including extra information, data, or facts that are irrelevant into the decision-making process dilutes what is essential to know. Good decision-makers make a habit of deciding what is essential to know by posing the critical questions that need to be answered. Brainstorming these questions with the team can add significant value. 

Beyond those questions and answers, they ask the team to introduce only data that connects to one or more of these questions or to the decision directly. The best decision-makers call out irrelevant facts and information that are raised during discussions and hold a hard line against discussing them. 

Superfluous, irrelevant, and immaterial information can have a profound effect on decision-making.  Good leaders avoid the irrelevant at all costs. When it comes to decision-making, what you don’t consider can have as much impact on a decision as what you do.