The Decision

“Smart people make bad decisions every day. Not because they lack intelligence or commitment — but because they don’t have a system. The Decision gives you one.”

Through the story of two men — a young veteran adrift eight months after leaving the Army, and a retired Soldier who spent decades making decisions under pressure — you will learn a practical, repeatable six-step process you can apply to any significant decision or problem you are facing right now.

Career crossroads. Major purchases. Returning to school. Business decisions. Choosing a direction when every option feels equally uncertain. The process works for all of it.

What makes The Decision different from every other decision-making and problem-solving book is how it teaches. The framework is introduced through a story — real characters, a real problem, and a decision worked through with discipline and structure from beginning to end. You watch the process used on a hard problem before you ever apply it to your own. By the time the story ends, the method belongs to you.

The book includes a complete Toolkit: the full six-step process in reference form, a decision matrix template, common decision-making traps and how to catch them, and three fully worked examples drawn from professional, practical, and personal decisions.

The Six-Step Process

STEP 1
Define the Problem
Identify the real issue, not just the symptoms
STEP 2
Analyze the Situation
Separate facts from assumptions
STEP 3
Establish Screening & Evaluation Criteria
Establish the criteria used to screen and evaluate all courses of action
STEP 4
Generate Courses of Action
Develop genuine alternatives, not just variations
STEP 5
Evaluate and Compare
Score and weight each option with discipline
STEP 6
Decide and Act
Commit clearly, deliberately, and with confidence

“Read it once for the story. Keep it for the process.”

About the Author

DB Zimmer is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and founder of Auroral Strategies LLC in Alaska. The Decision draws on thirty years of applying structured military decision-making to real problems — and translates that discipline for anyone facing a significant choice.