Everyone is required to make many decisions every day in their business and personal lives. Most decisions, by most people, are handled quickly and without much thought. But many of us procrastinate or over-analyze some of the most important decisions we must make. This book breaks down the process of making decisions into a structure that can relieve the delay and stress of choosing the right option when we face important opportunities or problems.
This book contains the materials needed to develop a professional training program on the subject of decision making. Chapters 2 through 5 help you with the training part, including how to assess the need for training, design the training, conduct the training, and evaluate whether or not your efforts were successful. Chapters 6 through 8 provide sample agendas for half-day, full-day, and two-day programs, and provide additional recommendations for putting these programs together. The remaining chapters, 9 through 18, provide the subject matter content and support needed to conduct successful training—each of these chapters is a separate module that you will use in different combinations, depending on the length of the training and the audience. These modules cover the four main content areas of the decision-making process:
Each of the 10 modules includes the following information:
A one- or two-sentence overview gives a brief summary of the contents, plus information provided by the module and how it fits within the structure of decision-making training.
See “Online Materials,” below. All of the PowerPoint slides, worksheets, and evaluations are available for download at www.astd.org/decisionmakingtraining.
This book covers the process of decision making. If you have not done organizational training before, you will find lots of helpful suggestions and references to make your initial effort easier and more professional. If you have done training before, you will probably want to skim through this part for both refreshers and new ideas as you approach the design of this program.
The module design of this book offers the trainer maximum flexibility to create the right training for the intended audience and time available. The suggested combinations are model programs, but the modules can be used individually or in any combination to meet your training needs.
Those familiar with our WorkShop books will notice that this format is a bit different from other titles in the series. The handouts and worksheets appear at the end of the chapter or module in which they are used, rather than together in a separate chapter.
The module training materials—including PowerPoint slides, worksheets, and evaluations—can be accessed at www.astd.org/decisionmakingtraining. All the materials can be easily downloaded and printed from this website. Follow the instructions in the Appendix, “Using the Online Materials,” at the back of this workbook.
Clock indicates recommended timeframes for specific activities
Worksheet indicates worksheets or handouts that you can print or copy to support training activities.
Assessment appears when an agenda or learning activity includes an assessment.
PowerPoint Slide indicates PowerPoint presentations and slides that can be used individually.
Exercise introduces participant exercises.
What to Do Next highlights actions that will help you make the transition from one section of this workbook to the next, or from one training activity to another within a training module.
Learning Check Questions points out questions you can use to explore significant aspects of the training.