Business School with Sharran Srivatsaa

Episode: Decision Mapping Method

Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Sharran Srivatsaa

Episode Overview

In this episode, Sharran Srivatsaa unpacks his tactical four-step "Decision Mapping Method", a process designed to help founders, operators, and leaders make better, more intentional decisions. Drawing from personal experience—including a story about meeting Richard Branson—Sharran demonstrates why the process for making decisions is often more important than the outcome itself. He then offers listeners a step-by-step framework for understanding, isolating, assessing, and executing on important decisions in business and life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Compounding Power of Decisions

• Decisions Shape Everything: Sharran opens by reiterating that the quality of our life and business is the sum of the decisions we make, echoing Tony Robbins' famous quote:

  "The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your decisions." (03:15)

• Compounding Machine Analogy: Every repeated action or choice—good or bad—compounds over time to shape our reality (01:05).

2. Story: Learning Decision-Making from Richard Branson

• Richard Branson’s Approach:
  Sharran recalls a memorable moment playing tennis with Richard Branson on Necker Island. Instead of giving a formula, Branson answered Sharran’s question on decision-making with a story, underscoring that:

  "The biggest mistake that people make is not knowing their own process for making their decisions." (05:18)

• Self-Reflection Prompt:
  “If I asked you, ‘What process do you use to make decisions?’ what would you say?” (06:00)

3. The Pitfall of Following ‘Pithy’ Advice

• Process vs. Mantra:
  Many use catchy phrases like “I want to do epic things with epic people,” but lack clarity on their actual decision-making process (07:25).

4. The Four-Step Decision Mapping Method

Step 1: Understand the Context (08:05)

• Context is Critical:

  “There’s nothing more important than understanding the context.” (08:13)

• Harvard Business Review Insight:
  Leaders who ask more clarifying questions before deciding improve decisions by over a third (09:11).
• Einstein’s Problem Solving Quote:

  "If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem." (09:22)

• Practical Tactics for Context:
  • Ask clarifying questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? (11:25)
  • Even for solo decisions, write a ‘context document’ as if explaining to a coach or mentor (13:01).

Step 2: Isolate the Issue (15:19)

• Define the Real Problem:

  “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” – Charles Kettering (17:09)

• Focus on Constraints:
  • Find and articulate the main bottleneck or constraint.
  • Leadership at Acquisition.com spends up to 90 minutes in meetings solely isolating the right constraint before solutioning (19:00).

Step 3: Accept the Risk (21:11)

• Every Decision is a Trade-off:
  Being decisive “is to cut off other options” (22:08).
• Inability to Assess Risk:
  One of the top three reasons businesses fail (22:43).
• Inversion Thinking:

  “If you want to become a good person, just don’t do what the worst people do.” (Charlie Munger’s inversion, 23:21)

• Examples:
  • Choose to spend (and risk profit) or invest extra time (and risk burnout); every route carries specific risks (24:03).

Step 4: Map the Decision (26:05)

• Decisions Must Lead to Action:

  “A decision without action is just a thought.” (26:12)

• Simple Meeting Rule:
  Ask “What did we decide and what happens next?” (26:33)
• Documenting for Accountability:
  • Write decisions in a memo format—for review, sharing, and iteration (27:05).
  • Consider writing to an “imaginary board of directors” for clarity (28:41).
• Best Practice:
  “You should always make big decisions on paper, and write as if you’re explaining it to someone else.” (29:05)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Branson on Process:

  "The biggest mistake that people make is not knowing their own process for making decisions." (05:18)

• On Context:

  “There’s nothing more important than understanding the context.” (08:13)

  "If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem." (09:22, quoting Einstein)

• Problem Statement:

  “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” (17:09, quoting Charles Kettering)

• On Trade-offs:

  “A decision... is to cut off. You’re cutting off other options, you’re cutting off other choices so that you can make a specific decision.” (22:08)

• Inversion:

  “If you want to become a good person, just don’t do what the worst people do.” (23:21, paraphrasing Munger)

• On Action:

  “A decision without action is just a thought.” (26:12)

• Final Wisdom:

  "Decision making is a leadership meta-skill—probably the leadership meta-skill." (31:10)

  “Good judgment just means you have a good process for making decisions.” (31:29)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–04:50 — Introduction; the compounding impact of decisions
• 04:50–07:30 — Richard Branson story: the importance of knowing your own process
• 07:30–15:00 — Step 1: Understanding context + tactics for gaining clarity
• 15:00–21:00 — Step 2: Isolating the issue/problem/constraint
• 21:00–26:05 — Step 3: Accepting risk and recognizing trade-offs
• 26:05–32:00 — Step 4: Mapping the decision, documenting, next steps, and review
• 32:00–end — Final thoughts, encouragement, and open invitation for feedback

Actionable Summary: Sharran’s Four-Step Decision Mapping Method

1. Understand the Context

   • Gather information, ask clarifying questions, and document the scenario for complete situational awareness.

2. Isolate the Issue

   • Clearly state the core problem or bottleneck.
   • “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.”

3. Accept the Risk

   • Identify and honestly acknowledge the trade-offs or risks associated with each choice.

4. Map the Decision

   • Specify concrete next steps.
   • Document what was decided and what will happen next—for yourself and any stakeholders.

Closing Advice

Sharran encourages listeners to customize their own decision-making process, share the framework with their teams, and use it to foster better decisions and judgment across their lives and businesses.

“If you have a mastermind group or a coach, or if you want your team members doing the same thing, have them do it as well... I think we can all benefit from having better judgment, which is having a good process for making decisions.” (33:17)

For more resources and frameworks, visit Sharran.com or his Substack MyNextBillion.com.