You can use a decision tree to help you make all kinds of business decisions, including new product development, new marketing strategies and workforce changes.

Begin your decision tree by concisely defining the decision you need to make in a box on the left side of the page. Let's say, for example, the decision was determining the best way to increase ...

Reassess the market and your decision tree every quarter. Survive to thrive It can often feel self-serving when investors proselytize the apocalypse and capture the benefits of lower valuations.

Sharing the decision tree while I was still developing it served a few critical needs. First, it involved my supervisors in the design process as active commentators.