Decision Toolkit for Personal Decisions

Cohort-based Course

Feeling paralyzed by your next big decision? Learn frameworks and tools that will help you decide and know you've made a good choice.

Course overview

Make Decisions with Less Stress and More Clarity

Which career should I pursue? Where should I move? A pro-con list just doesn't cut it for decisions this big.


In this course, you will use better tools to work with all the thoughts, feelings, and what-ifs that weigh you down, so you can make the decision that's right for you.

This course is for you if:

01

You're a Type-A knowledge worker frustrated in your current role, but are overwhelmed by the decision of what to do next

02

You are at a major fork in the road and can't waste any more time in analysis paralysis

03

You are sick of feeling like your head and your heart are at war and just want to get them on the same page

By the end of the course you will

Learn a Structured Approach to Decision Making

Identify the three components of every decision, so you know where to start and what steps to take when you're feeling overwhelmed

Decipher Emotional Data

Understand what your emotions are telling you: differentiate when they should be set aside and when they should be incorporated into your model

Get Clear on What Matters

Use the Pro-Con List With A Twist method to articulate your objectives in a way that help you make a decision with confidence

Develop a Plan of Action, Even When You Don't Have All the Info You Want

Navigate where to focus when faced with uncertainties and unknowns, and avoid analysis paralysis

Build Your Decision Making Toolkit

Apply simple frameworks and tools to move through current and future decisions with more ease

Strengthen Your Decision-Making Muscle

Put in the reps tackling smaller decisions in a safe environment while getting useful feedback from your peers

See what people are saying

        Because of what I learned in Michelle's course, I was able to make a very difficult decision regarding my career, and landed on my feet, in a new custom role with fantastic opportunities and compensation.
Kicki T.

Kicki T.

Executive Director of Clinical Development, Seagen Inc.
        Despite being a student + a practitioner of decision quality, I was paralyzed with a career choice. Perfectly balancing hard data and logic with intuition and emotions, Michelle is able to tease out intrinsic motivations helping you learn more about yourself and avoid regret.
Shashwat D.

Shashwat D.

Recovering CFO | Risk Management Geek
        Michelle helped me make sense of which aspects of my career stimulated me - which is something I had tried to identify myself over the previous two years, unsuccessfully. I was able to define my personal values, which I used to assess three job offers, looking at company, environment and role.
Phil D.

Phil D.

Chief Product Officer, Embodied Inc.
        I was making decisions every day, but I didn't feel confident about decisions I made. Michelle taught me simple frameworks that anyone can learn, adopt and benefit from. Now, it’s such a relief to feel good about the decisions I make at work and in life!
Jenny S.

Jenny S.

Product Manager, Google
        One of the main outcomes I wanted coming out of Michelle's course was to feel more confident in defending my decision making. I am definitely more equipped to do so and look forward to practicing this in real life.
John H.

John H.

Product Management, Zynga
        I took Michelle's course because I wanted a framework to evaluate decisions AND more importantly manage the emotions which arise. She taught me both and helped me enhance my toolkit to be more effective in my decisions. It's a life skill everyone should learn-- I truly believe everyone should take this course!
Pallavi M.

Pallavi M.

Data Migration Strategy & Analytics, Providence Health
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Decision Toolkit for Personal Decisions

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Most people think emotions should be ignored when making decisions, but actually they are valuable data that help you get unstuck... *if* you know what to do with them.

Meet your instructor

Michelle Florendo

Michelle Florendo

@TheDecisionGeek

Michelle is a decision engineer and executive coach for Type-A professionals.

With an engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, she has spent the past 10+ years showing hundreds of driven professionals how to use the principles of decision engineering to grow their impact and find fulfillment.

Michelle has guest-taught on decision making in Stanford's famous Design Your Life course, served on the very first coaching team for Seth Godin's altMBA, is a founding member of the Forbes Coaches Council, spent several years as a Senior Coach at Management Leadership for Tomorrow, and is a faculty coach for Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute.

She also hosts the podcast, Ask A Decision Engineer.

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Decision Toolkit for Personal Decisions

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active, not passive

This course focuses on live workshops and hands-on projects

Learning is more fun in a group

You’ll be learning in public through breakout rooms and an engaged community

Learn with a cohort of peers

Surround yourself with like-minded people who want to grow alongside you

Course syllabus

01

Define: Your Decision

You won't arrive at the right solution unless you know you're solving the right problem. You'll learn how to use the Decision Hierarchy to determine the appropriate frame for your decision, so that you focus on the right decision at the right point in time.

02

Define: What Matters

It's surprising how many people attempt to make a big decision without first defining their objectives. You'll learn how to use the Pro-Con List With A Twist to identify the criteria that will drive your decision making and refine them until you have a clear picture of what you want.

03

Digest: Piece by Piece

With big decisions, often there is so much to consider, it's difficult to know where to start. You'll learn the three components of every decision and how to use them to identify where you're getting stuck.

04

Digest: With a Clear Mind

Emotions and thoughts can either hinder or help. Learn about common cognitive biases and how to combat them, as well as what to do with the inevitable emotions that arise in the decision making process.

05

Decide: Even When Lacking Information

Sometimes the biggest thing keeping us from taking action is the desire for more information. But rarely is it possible to know everything with certainty. You'll learn how to determine whether additional research is useful and develop your muscle of dealing with the unknown.

06

Decide: Now, And In The Future

You're ready to make a decision, but then what? How do you bust through those last barriers to action? What happens if the situation changes? You'll develop your plan for continually building your decision making chops so that you'll be ready for whatever the future may bring.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Decision Toolkit for Personal Decisions