Let's say you have a goal to advance your career and increase your income. Sounds straightforward. But to reach that goal you could take any of a variety of different actions—some more imaginative, some more risky, some more conservative.  

The key to reaching any goal is that you have to make smart decisions about the actions you take to fulfill it.  If not, you could actually set yourself back. On the other hand, if you make  smart decisions, you reach your goal more quickly. 

To make intelligent decisions you need a set of reliable steps to follow—a template for making decisions.

Here’s one that works, and here's why.

Large changes—big upheavals—draw your attention and in so doing, either provoke learning or put you on overload and immobilize you. But the secret to moving beyond merely the next level always lies in milking decision-making in ordinary situations for all the information possible.  In other words, the wisdom you need to go far arises from paying close attention to the obvious and the everyday—to what is right in front of you. If you master the following four principles and look and listen in a particular way, you will.

Don't rush. Be deliberate. Don't make major decisions without careful thought. As a baseline, you should be looking at your life regularly in an ongoing way. Write in a journal, take stock, make appraisals. Track where you are versus where you want to be and make course corrections. To say it in other words, get real and stay real. 

Then when considering a major decision, step up this practice and intensify it. Set aside additional time. Serious consideration requires the time necessary to consider possibilities from different angles. It also allows you to flesh out subtler implications of possible choices by taking several looks.

Those who settle for sketches and approximations use a lesser standard. If you are a quick read, that ability could become a handicap here. If you want to make truly artful choices, give yourself the time to consider and weigh alternative decisions. Investing time up front saves time in the end undoing improvised actions.

After you deliberate in this way, reach a tentative working idea of your decision.

2. Consult 

Do not make important decisions in a vacuum. When you have arrived at a formulation of the major issues and come to a preliminary decision, consult your constituency.

Your constituency, or circle of trusted advisors, is not an intellectual or personal life support system. Don't wait to approach them in a state of panic about something you consider to be an emergency unless it really is. Most of the time, though, the sky is not falling. Give your circle of advisors enough bullet-pointed information to sink their teeth into and give them enough time to digest it.

So present the whole picture, but in a distilled fashion. Partial information will undermine the exercise. On the other hand, needless detail is simply that.

If your decision directly impinges on one or more others, get their input too. Honour everyone’s contribution by letting each one know your response to proffered suggestions. Minimally, you owe this as ab expression of gratitude.

3. Think again

To make best use of the contributions of others, do not rush to act blindly on their advice. This is your life. Invest the time necessary to thoroughly review and consider their responses and recommendations. In other words, invest the time their contributions deserve. 

Genuine friends do not demand that you do precisely as they suggest. They will be happy to have acted in an advisory capacity if you give serious time to thinking beforehand and then to thinking again afterward. But do keep them apprised

4. Decide and act

If you follow the first three steps, you will feel much more solid in making your decision. Confidence and internal tranquillity arise from careful consideration. To restate what I said before, you cannot know everything, but you can and will know more. 

There is no problem in wanting to reach your goals in the minimum necessary time. But remember, good decisions, not hasty ones, are the most efficient way to raise the quality of your decisions and ultimately the standard at which you live. 

Once you decide, inform your constituency and express appreciation for their contributions and the difference their comments and suggestions made. 

Then act.

Don't make a mockery of the decision-making process by sitting out the action steps.