Give your idea's a test drive

To make the best possible decisions it is helpful to imagine different scenarios. You can bring these different scenearios to life by visualzing different outcomes. A good example is when a Project Manager works on getting effort estimates for a Software Development Project. In a perfect scenario where everything works out just fine the development effort is 5 days. Then you have the worst case where everything goes wrong and the development effort is 10 days. Lastly you have the most likely scenario where some things work and some things don't. In this case the development effort is 7 days. One of the main advantages I see with this approach is that you make the possible future more concrete by visualizing it. You can see some potential challenges ahead of time and you can generate some good ideas. When you go through this exercise you might recognize some key conditions or choices you need to keep in mind, some key allies or partners you need to get on board. Set aside some time for this exercise, at least for your more important decisions,  to go through this in as much detail as possible. I find this works well in your private life as well in organizations.