The regret minimisation framework

When faced with an important decision, it helps to have a framework or model to inform the process we use to decide. One of the best-known is the regret minimisation framework.

What is it?

Popularised by Jeff Bezos, the regret minimisation framework is a simple method for approaching major decisions that focuses on how we might feel about taking a particular decision - or not taking it - after a certain amount of time has passed.

How does it work?

Bezos first applied the framework in his decision to leave a settled, high-paying finance job and found Amazon. He imagined himself looking back at the decision at 80 years old, and tried to envisage how he would feel about the decision then.

I knew that when I was 80 I was not going to regret having tried this. I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried.

How can I apply it?

The framework can be applied to almost any decision of any scale.

For a major life event like founding a company, it helps to project a long way into the future. But for a smaller decision, like whether or not to accept a particular job offer, or whether or not to invest time in learning a new skill, the timeframe can be shorter. It might make sense to imagine oneself six months or a year from now, and consider which avenue would be more or less regretted from then.

Measuring our decisions against a framework like minimising regret in the medium / long-term is one means of bringing clarity and confidence to decision-making.

Find more approaches at https://cord.co/insights/making-decisions.

References and further reading

• https://alyjuma.medium.com/the-regret-minimization-framework-how-jeff-bezos-made-decisions-4d5a86deaf24

• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-regret-minimization-framework/id1509276485?i=1000520199399