{"id":232620,"date":"2025-11-07T06:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=232620"},"modified":"2025-12-01T09:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T04:03:06","slug":"tips-on-how-to-use-force-field-evaluation-for-higher-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/tips-on-how-to-use-force-field-evaluation-for-higher-decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips on how to Use Force Field Evaluation for Higher Decision Making"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n

When we now have to make a call, certainly one of the methods we sometimes use is\u00a0a T-chart, which is essentially making a big T on a bit of paper and listing the professionals on one side and the cons on one other<\/a>. The thought being if the professionals \/ advantages \/ benefits outweigh the cons \/ downsides \/ disadvantages then we must always do it. Otherwise, we shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Today, I need to share an alternative choice to the T-chart. One that may offer a greater assessment of the situation and lead to raised decision making. It\u2019s called a force field evaluation. And no, that\u2019s not a Star Wars reference. The force field evaluation was developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin back within the Nineteen Fifties. Lewin can also be the writer of\u00a0the 3-step change model (Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze) which we\u2019ve discussed before.<\/p>\n

Back to the force field evaluation. After we\u2019re attempting to make a call or set a goal, there are \u201cforces\u201d that drive us toward it and \u201cforces\u201d that restrain us. Hence, after we create the T-chart of pros and cons, that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing. We\u2019re listing the driving forces (pros) and restraining forces (cons).\u00a0<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s where the force field and T-chart differ. In a T-chart, we could be tempted to view all pros and cons as equal. So, if we now have 10 pros and 1 con, we would say \u201clet\u2019s do it\u201d because there are more advantages than downsides. The truth could possibly be that the sum total of the ten advantages is lower than the 1 negative. In a force field evaluation, we acknowledge that the driving forces and restraining forces should not equal. So, along with listing the benefits and drawbacks, we assign them a strength (aka \u201cforce\u201d). Then, we are able to evaluate the outcomes.<\/p>\n