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We are constantly bombarded with choices, many of them are ambiguous and without
clarity on their possible outcomes, let alone a chance of some of those outcomes being
successful. The hardest part of any decision making process is the invisible nature of the factors
involved that drive decisions that are made. More often, these factors are invisible to the decider
and sometimes also invisible to the team. Nevertheless, they exist and influence decisions and inturn their outcomes in both negative and positive ways. The influence exhibits itself in various
forms. Sometimes, we fall back to our heuristic abilities to make some decisions due to lack of
time and when commitment is necessary, in other cases, we seem to over-analyze the situation
and there by legitimizing external biases to the problem, when none was warranted.
Background
The paper describes two scenarios where I was personally involved in the decision
making process. I have worked in the semiconductor industry for over 13 years. Each design
process usually lasts for 1-2 years, before it is sent out manufacturing. Every design feels like a
herculean effort and their completion is celebrated yet very anti-climactical at the same time. I
blame this on the nature of design engineers to be pessimistic.
Decision with a Positive outcome
One example of a good decision I made, was the decision to ask to be to a mentor for new
hires. After 8 years of experience as an individual contributor, I was eager to widen my sphere of
influence across the company. The first step was to ask for more responsibility in the areas of
leadership. Clearly, I exhibited willingness to take the risk and challenge the Status quo Trap
(Keeney & Raiffa, 1998) which befalls many experienced engineers. The decision itself to lead
was very challenging as the alternative was very comfortable. I also stopped viewing the issue of
leadership in terms of gains, which would have made me risk averse (Keeney & Raiffa, 1998). I

genuinely enjoyed the leadership role and the ability to share knowledge with peers. It brought
camaraderie which I enjoy, while work on any project. With a new stream of new hires coming
into the company, many of the senior engineers demonstrated white flag behavior (Mulvey,
Veiga & Elsass), and many lacked the initiative and the views of how important grooming future
talent could be. The methodologies for electrical design are complex and starting on the right
foot on a nascent career was of utmost importance. I have personally experienced false starts
early on in my career and was eager to help the new hires to avoid having to deal with the same
issues. The outcome for this decision was extremely positive, my manager saw the progress that
I was making with the new hires and provided positive feedback the following years appraisal.
As for the company, the projects I worked on with the new hires were extremely innovative and
useful for the company, and this was reflected in the appraisal.