TOPIC

People who make decisions based on emotion and justify those decisions with logic afterwards are poor decision makers.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

Essay

The balance between emotion and logic has been an important discussion throughout time. This holds true for decision makers who sometimes precariously straddle the two sides. Questions arise around what makes a good leader. For instance, how do they arrive at their decisions? Is there a correct way to navigate between emotion and logic when executing on these critical decisions?

Personally, I define poor decision makers as those who rush to decisions without properly evaluating the circumstances. Therefore, these individuals put others and their organizations at risk through their haste. With the above parameter in mind, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that "people who make decisions based on emotion and justify those decisions with logic afterwards are poor decision makers". Examples bolstering my argument can be found in the start-up environment as well as history.

In the start-up world emotions can run high. Innumerable individuals think they have the next million dollar idea. In order to temper these emotions, high potential entrepreneurial ventures are required to submit extensive business plans to obtain funding. This process enforces the idea that an individual must first logically study the marketplace and competitor products before emotionally starting a business pursuit. This entire process of developing a business plan and seeking funding with it is designed to avoid poor decision making stemming from emotions and blind passion.

Furthermore, history is full of examples illuminating the pitfalls of emotional decisions later justified by logic. One prominent example is World War I. At this particular time in history, European countries were filled with nationalistic pride and supported by developed military arsenals. In an effort to showcase their prideful countries' strength and power, these nations were quick to jump into war with one another. Jingoistic emotions ran high among politicians and a populace eager to engage in combat. As a result, political pundits justified a war with pretend "logic" in order to satisfy their war-mongering natures. The result of this poor decision was a long, drawn-out war with significant casualties on all sides.

The start-up world and World War I jingoism are two examples that showcase the pitfalls of making decisions driven by emotion. Logic needs to be applied on the front-end instead of being used to justify emotionally charged decisions after the fact. This distinction is what separates good from bad decision makers.