#222 | How To Make Better Decisions At Work With Becki Saltzman

Have you ever walked out of a meeting and thought, That moved fast… I’m not even sure we made the right call? Same! Most of us are making decisions on the fly, in back-to-back meetings, under deadlines, with half the information we actually need. In my conversation with Becki Saltzman, we talked about something that sounds simple but is wildly underused: curiosity. Not surface-level curiosity. Strategic curiosity. The kind that helps you think clearly, ask better questions, and stop defaulting to assumptions you didn’t even realize you were carrying.

The first shift? Slow down just enough to question what feels “obvious.” Becki shared a story about a team working toward a June 1 launch date, a date no one questioned because… well, it was the date. When someone finally asked, “Where did this date come from?” they discovered it was basically a placeholder in a slide deck. That’s how decisions often get made. Not because they’re right, but because they’re unexamined. Swapping “Why did we do this?” for “How might we approach this?” instantly opens the door to better thinking. Curiosity creates options. And options create leverage.

The second piece is getting honest about bias and noise. We all have mental shortcuts, confirmation bias, recency bias, letting the loudest voice in the room steer the conversation. Becki calls this cleaning up your “decision hygiene.” One simple way to do that? Get initial thoughts from everyone privately before discussing as a group. Or ask yourself: What evidence would need to exist for me to change my mind? That question alone builds flexibility. And flexibility, especially in leadership, is a strength, not a weakness.

And finally, let’s talk about confidence. So many professionals hold back questions because they don’t want to look unsure. But curiosity and confidence aren’t opposites; they’re partners. Becki teaches something called “blemishing”: acknowledge what you know, then ask the question. It sounds like, “Given what we’ve already built here, how are we thinking about integrating AI into this next phase?” You’re not undermining your credibility. You’re reinforcing it. The best leaders don’t have all the answers. They ask the best questions.

If you want to start applying this today, try writing down the main piece of evidence you’re relying on. Assign it a confidence percentage. Then ask yourself what would need to happen for you to change your mind. That small habit builds sharper thinking over time. Because at the end of the day, better decisions aren’t about speed, they’re about clarity. And clarity almost always starts with a really good question.

Timestamps:

04:48 How to stay curious in long term careers

07:33 Slowing yourself down in meetings that move too fast

11:44 Spotting the hidden assumptions driving decisions

15:05 Bias, noise, and how they quietly hijack decisions

19:20 Check your thinking before you outsource it

24:36 The difference between a good question and a game-changing one

28:30 A surprisingly powerful prompt: childhood smells

34:12 Leading with real curiosity (not performative questions)

37:00 How “blemishing” builds credibility

42:08 Using AI as a question-framing partner

51:16 Building the habit of evidence-based thinking

Links:

Past Episode With Becki: How To Supercharge Your Decision Making

Becki’s Courses:

Using Curiosity for Deeper Insights and Wiser Decisions

Critical Thinking for Better Judgment and Decision Making

Acquired Podcast

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