Episode 2

When You’re Deciding To Prioritize

Published on: 6th July, 2022

Michelle Florendo is a decision engineer and executive coach who is passionate about teaching people how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity. Over the past decade, she has shown hundreds of driven professionals how to use the principles of decision science to grow their impact and find fulfillment. 

 

She joins Amy and Bryan on the podcast today to introduce Decision Engineering to us to improve our skills, understand what factors go into decisions, and assess what will become of our society as we’re inundated with more opportunities yet more uncertainty. 

Segment One: What’s a Decision Engineer? [02:07

Michelle has experienced enough dinner table conversations to know how best to describe her profession, so when asked what it is she does, she’s ready to roll. 


Segment Two: What’s the Decision-Making Process?  [5:21]


Everybody makes decisions, and Michelle understands the stress involved in them. She teaches our hosts and listeners the basis of decision making; it’s far more complicated than actively trying to make “good” decisions and avoid making a “bad” one. 


Segment Three: How do we use emotions as data? [14:25]


Emotions tend to be put to the wayside when making decisions, but not to Michelle. From her experience, emotions can serve as vital data to guide the decision-making process. The challenge is to be able to observe them rather than let them overtake the rational mind.  


Segment Four: Does society have the tools to make decisions [20:10]


The pandemic was a pivotal moment in history to prompt society's reconsideration. Companies are moving at a breakneck pace on a day-to-day basis, but changes are coming rapidly as well. This leads to overwhelm and paralysis. 


Segment Five: How do we properly separate ourselves from our decisions? [25:09]


Decisions are about what we can control and identify what we cannot. When options change so do opportunities.


Segment Six: The frameworks we should know about [32:15]


Along with the brilliant insights shared so far, we ask Michelle to round out where we could go next to improve our decision-making expertise.


Segment Seven: The alternative to the Pro-Con list [34:35]


The touchstone of decision-making has always been the pro-con list, but Michelle breaks down an alternative most would consider more attractive and less concerning. 


Guest Links

Podcast: askadecisionengineer.com

Website: michelleflorendo.com

Course (starts July 14): Decision Mapping: Make Business Decisions with Less Stress and More Clarity (stanford.edu)

 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michelleflorendo

Instagram: instagram.com/thedecisiongeek

Twitter: twitter.com/thedecisiongeek


Our Links

Be sure to subscribe to Priorities wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss an episode. 


This podcast is brought to you by WITH Wellness. Co-hosted by Amy and Bryan Lattimore, Produced and edited by Joseph Ianni. Music provided royalty free by contributing artists ItsWatr, ComaStudio and Coma-Media. Recorded on Riverside.FM. Album Art designed by Andrea Facenda. 


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About the Podcast

The Priorities Podcast
Presented By WITH Wellness
This is a podcast designed to normalize joy by destigmatizing wellness. In the midst of unprecedented times, we find ourselves questioning what really matters. Are we spending our time and energy on things and with people who fill us or deplete us? Are we centering what and who brings us joy?

We know, particularly for traditionally marginalized communities, that the word wellness can seem convoluted, mysterious, and inaccessible. However, in an attempt to simplify, we believe that the heart and core of wellness is joy. When we align ourselves with joy, then we are positioning ourselves to live a well and whole life.

But in a world filled with ongoing and insurmountable stressors, demands, and responsibilities, how do we begin to prioritize, l mean like for real prioritize, who and what matters most to us?

We're going to bring expertise from leading and authentic wellness voices who will share learnings inspired by real-world stories. However, know this truth– no one can answer that priority question for you, but with this podcast, we can journey WITH you to find out. Let's learn and be well together.