Advancing the Art and Science of Decision-Making: A Guide (2026)
Chapter: I Foundations of Decision-Making
PART I
Foundations of Decision-Making
Transportation leaders encounter multiple situations daily that require decisions to be made. These decisions can have impacts on billions of dollars or an entire state of travelers, and they often need to be made quickly and without all the information available. Even the decisions that seem minor in isolation can add up to a big impact on the nature of the organization, how dollars are spent, or the on-the-ground realities of the transportation system. Leadership-level decisions are the ones that cannot be made at a lower level in a department of transportation (DOT) because they either cut across agency silos, trigger large-scale changes, incur public scrutiny, or carry high stakes.
Effective decisions fuel successful organizations. This guide will help transportation leaders better understand the dynamics of uncertain situations, as it offers frameworks and tools to help them make sense of the options before them and shares wisdom and advice from industry leaders on how to arrive at the best decision in the end. This journey begins with a review of the concepts at the foundation of decision-making.
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