The “70% Solution” : Making Major Decisions with 70% of the Information

“Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90%, in most cases, you’re probably being slow”

At what point is the information you have available for a key decision enough? You always want more.

This exactly mirrors a MAJOR decision-making framework taught in the Marine Corps–we actually call it the “70% solution.”

All of our warfighting doctrine is built around the principle of rapid and decisive action, but the problem is you’re in an uncertain, rapidly changing world where there are opposing actors operating around you and you never have all the answers. They emphasize in officer training that a key limiter is being paralyzed with uncertainty and wanting to wait until more information is available, and that you must actively counter this feeling. Indecision is a decision (and often the worst one).