Decision making/risk analysis is taught in Project Management (link below), so yes, it is a skill that can be developed. Aside from being taught, as you make decisions that have a bad outcome, such as touching a hot stove, you learn from that experience for the future.

Scott HolmesNetwork Administrator

Being Versatile in the Job. Finding Opportunities in Problems Knowing the likes and dislikes of your boss. Understanding the Limitations of Power and Authority. Understanding the Situations for Making a Decision.

Prem KumarHead Administration at Gmmco Caterpillar

Yes, you can teach decision making, so long as it is taught in terms of a repeatable process. While no one can teach you how to make the right decision every time you are faced with one, if you can inculcate a mental process that includes reflecting on what brought you to the decision point, what your response options are and, most importantly, how conditions can be revised to avoid the repeat of the decision point itself.

Jeffrey CanterPresident of Step 1 LLC

Hard work is when we keep repeating the same old things in order to make a difference in the results. Smart work is being able to discover and correct mistakes and keep working at the resulting things in order to make a difference in the results.

Renjit EbrooCoach: Organizational Behaviour and Entrepreneurship

You've got to make a distinction between rational and non-rational decision making. In rational decision making you learn to take decisions in steps, to think about criteria and weights, to calculate risks and to evaluate outcomes. In this sense you can learn how to make a decision based on arguments for your choices. A decision can have a good or a bad outcome, but I feel you've got to split 'outcome' from 'decision making process'. The process is what you study and improve, the outcome might become easier to predict, but that depends on so much more of course. 

Continued

When it comes to non-rational decision making, like based on your intuition, it's hard to see this as a skill that you can train, because much (or almost all) of it happens in our subconscious. You can study human behavior and see how our decision making is being influenced by for example external parties. Dan Ariely wrote a great book called 'Predictably irrational' about how our decision making is being influenced by for example the way the problem is being presented to us. Studying these situations will make you more aware of your own irrational decision making. Of course this does not mean that you're making better decisions, but at least you understand the process.

Arjen BooyLecturer at Saxion University of Applied Sciences

I believe that anything in life can be learned. Babies teach us that. While we can never be taught how to make the best decisions in everything in life, we can be taught how to see and listen to the world around us, which in turn, helps us find the best solutions. Some people believe in pro/cons lists. Some talk it out. Some make a decision and sleep on it. Some do all three. A first step I think would be to read two different books to guide you on this journey. One would be about decision making and the other about learning/brain functions. My suggestion for the latter would be "Brain Rules." I just read it and it is completely applicable here. 

Happy decision making!Richard DedorCommunications and Management Specialist

Others replying to this post have given some excellent information on developing good decision making skills.For many of our actions, however, we are engaging not in an intellectual decision making process but simply by habit. 

For an excellent read on habits and how they replace decision making, I'd recommend "The Power of Habit - why we do what we do in life and business" by Charles Duhigg. Great book.

Patricia Pitsel, Ph.D.Principal at Pitsel & Associates Ltd.

Absolutely yes! Decision Making and Problem Solving are critical business skills that can be improved through training on the skills, tools and techniques that increase efficiency and accuracy in making decisions. 

At Global Bankers Institute we include Decision Making in all of our operations management, supervisory and leadership courses. If you have a specific need, please reach out to me at the contact information below. 

Clifford BrodyFounder and CEO at Global Bankers Institute 

Good decision-making is a function of experience and maturity. Every time you make a decision, implement the decision and evaluate the results of your actions, you gain experience.

You learn about what works and what doesn't (both actions and decision-making processes). You learn about trusting your instincts and honing them if necessary. You learn about relying solely on yourself or bringing in other people to advise your process. Some of these evaluations are difficult for people who are still young enough to believe they know everything and can do anything. Maturity teaches you that if someone else knows more than you do about a subject, it is not a cause for embarrassment, but a cause for celebration because there is someone who can help improve your decision-making process. Even great mentors often need a mentor!

Michelle HillFitness content writer for current/retired pro athletes

The difference about hard work and smart work is simply a matter of preference, proper adjustment and definition. If you work smart then hard work turns into smart, however if you work hard does not necessarily mean that you are working smart. Smart work is about using all of your resources in such way that even the hardest work seems easy. Hard work, well if we don't work smart then it's easy to make our work harder. Does that all make sense? To simplify, it takes smart work to manage hard work. Smart work triggers our unconscious mind. If we believe that the work is hard to start with then it will be. If we believe that the work is smart it will be too. It's a matter of approach and attitude. The hardest work is to make hard work turn into smart one.

Peter SliwinskiLearning & development professional

Decision making is a skill that can be honed over the period of time. Like any other skill, it takes lot of practice and learning to become better at it. It is important to note that there's no such thing as a perfect decision. But there are many ways of arriving at one. Some make decisions based on intuition, risk involved, some on extensive research, some consult others, some all of the above. 

It is important to keep taking decisions, rather than procrastinating it. The more you take decisions, the better you get at it. Take decisions. Take action. Learn. Move to next.

Saurabh Kulkarni Web Sales Manager at Mithi Software Technologies Pvt Ltd

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