Decide well under time pressure

A real deadline, and not enough time for the analysis you would prefer.

I have to decide soon and cannot do the full analysis. Help me decide well anyway.

1. What is the one question that, answered, decides this? Ignore everything else for now.
2. What can I find out in the time I actually have? Be realistic about the deadline I give you.
3. What is the default if I do nothing, and is that default acceptable? Knowing this lowers the stakes considerably.
4. What is the least reversible part of the decision, and can I defer just that part?
5. Give me your recommendation with the information available now, and state your confidence. Do not tell me to gather more data unless you can name data I can get before the deadline.

The decision and the deadline:

Deciding under pressure. Making the call when time is short, information is missing, or your capacity is already full.