# Less Choices, More Thinking By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-10-23 In the age of choice, one of the most valuable things that analysis can do is lower the cost of thinking. If thinking costs remain high, the likelihood that we will continue not thinking increases significantly. This is a challenging problem as cost-effective thinking is complex, nonlinear, and full of suboptimal alternatives. Thinking costs are reduced if the number of choices available are reduced. This means less time considering all possible options. This is a reasonable place to start in the age of choice and there are many ways to eliminate choices. One way is to ignore that additional choices exist. This is detrimental in the long run. Another way is to create a value heuristic by which you judge choice alternatives. Here you decide what is valuable to you or the organization and quickly eliminate choices that do not fit that value hierarchy. For example, if profit is your most valued heuristic measure of [[success]], eliminate choices that do not increase profit. From an analytics perspective, data and mathematics can establish systematic ways of eliminating alternatives for more quantitative value structures. For qualitative value systems, alternative means of choice elimination must be used. To eliminate choice when qualitative value systems are used, one must discover and adopt behavioral patterns and routines. These routines help to heuristically eliminate choices by setting known boundaries where bad choices likely exist. For example, not going to a bar when you have a drinking problem or always wearing a black turtle neck because thinking about what to wear takes too much energy. Behind these behaviors and routines are value heuristics that eliminate choices. For organizations, behaviors and routines look different depending on the qualitative value of interest. These may take the form of company meetings, mission statements, or evaluations. However, these are rarely as effective as those of individuals. Organizations are much more complex, and routines are much less examined. For organizations that want to be better thinkers, more emphasis is needed on eliminating choice via value heuristics and setting intentional behavior and routines. One role of analysis is to help individuals and organizations become better thinkers. Too often only quantitative means are considered as they are easy to see. There are much more challenging and rewarding opportunities within qualitative value systems. Systematically analyzing behaviors and routines to eliminate poor choices from ever being considered is a path more organizations should consider. #### Related Items [[Thinking]] [[Organizational Analytics]] [[Business]] [[Routine]] [[Complexity]] [[Systems Thinking]] [[Heuristics]] [[Choice]]