Developing a process to make better decisions is one of the best skill you can build.
The idea here is not to make the best decision every time. This is unrealistic and non-practical. It is learning how to maximize the quality of your decision making process in order to make good decisions more often and faster.
TL;DR; Most decisions are easy to revert → don't overthink those. Make a decision very fast even if you have incomplete information. If you're lucky, you're fine. If you're not lucky, you're fine as well because you can revert and it will be less costly than overthinking things in the first place.
A longer resource on the subject below (there is a lot written on this - I just picked the first result from google).
TL;DR; you only have two ways to get data:
- someone somewhere knows about the problem you're facing → reach out and pick their brain
- your problem is quite unique or highly contextual (ie. what's the right messaging for this product feature) → experiment to get data from the field (eg. write down 3 versions of messaging and go test it with customers to get feedback).
The key message here is to pause and deliberately think about the right way to get data. A common trap is to use the wrong approach (eg. getting data from the field when someone has already done it - or conversely).
Making a decision is great. But executing well on the decision is essential to see any impact from it. In other words, better a mediocre decision with a great execution rather than the other way around.
A common trap is to decide of something on our own and to expect everything to fall into place after that. This never works.
This is a step we often miss. We make a decision. Then someone comes along and question the decision. They make good point. We become defensive. It's not really that the feedback is not helpful. It's more that we've already made the decision and we don't want to admit it might make sense to do something else.
Solution is simple: identify early on who might have an opinion that matter on the subject, explain the decision you're making, give them a chance to be heard, and make your decision.
Expending on the topic above. Often we communicate quickly the decision we've made. Nobody really reacts to it. So... all is good, everybody's aligned, right? Nope... You know by now. 2 weeks later "Robert" will wake up and say "wait a minute... why are we doing this... wouldn't it be better to do X instead? I wish I had been part of this decision.". Robert is not being disingenuous. He did not listen to what you said (he has 1000 things going on in his head) or he did not realize the implications of your decision.
To avoid that common trap, repeat your decision again and again. Send an email to recap the decision that has been made. Ask Robert to rephrase the decision and ask him if he's ok with it.