Esteemed British author David Gemmell, who wished to “restore fantasy to its proper place in the literary pantheon,” once wrote that one should “trust your instincts, and make judgments on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.” This sound advice encourages a wise planner to weigh both sides of an argument and go with the best course of action.
That best course involves careful consideration of the positive and negative factors involved in any situation, as well as creating a pros and cons list that shows both sides of the argument. Only then can you make an informed decision on the best path forward, especially as a business leader in today’s ever-changing economic climate. To help you understand more about a pros and cons template for valuable business strategy, we’ll cover some of the basics about why you should use one and how they can be used on our Work OS.
What is a pros and cons template?
Creating a pros and cons template involves listing the positives and negatives of any situation or choice and weighing each column against the other. When you create a list of the advantages and disadvantages of a particular business decision, you’ll be able to see both sides of the argument and evaluate your choice.
Weighing both sides of a situation through a pros and cons template from monday.com incorporates smart business strategy with making an informed choice.One of the main advantages of this kind of list is that it helps you to avoid mistakes such as cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are common patterns of thinking that tend to lead to errors in judgment and poor decision-making. When you take an honest look at which biases are present versus the final outcome, it can help you determine the level of awareness a certain campaign might have or how your audience will respond to it across various segments.
Why use a pros and cons template?
Using divergent thinking and creating a pros and cons template allows you to better evaluate decisions while considering the costs versus wins, which is the best way to determine the overall best courses of action.
If you want to weigh the pros and cons of any situation, you’ll need to make a careful and honest analysis of each element that could affect your business. How will that new, exciting marketing campaign that’s built for a millennial audience affect your current customer base made up of primarily boomers? What are the benefits and detriments of creating a new hierarchy of leadership within your particular department? These are the types of questions that a pros and cons list could help resolve.
What are some examples of a pros and cons template?
When you are creating a pros and cons template using a grid format, you’ll need to write the decision at the top with a grid with two columns below the decision. In the first column, write all the benefits (or pros) of the decision. In the second column, write all the negative aspects (or cons) that apply.
To make a pros and cons template using a visual chart, you’ll write the decision in the middle of your visual chart or graph. List the pros on one side and the cons on the other. You can work with your team to brainstorm the possible positive consequences of the decision on the pros side and potential negative effects.
For example, if you’re creating a pros and cons template to evaluate a marketing campaign that covers releasing a new app, it’s vital to consider the potential downsides of what might happen along the way. On the pro side, the app might provide convenience and value in your marketing strategies. On the con side, it could result in frustration for new users who are unable to navigate the technical difficulties of installing and using the new app.
Pros and cons templates on monday.com
monday.com streamlines multiple collaborative functions that allow teams to weigh both sides of a particular decision or action visually, in an easy-to-understand format. Our Work OS allows you to customize solutions for your team to work together across in-office and remote locations to complete projects on time and with everyone on the same page.
Related templates on monday.com
Product roadmap template
When considering the marketing strategy for a particular product line, creating a Product Roadmap Template that outlines the client’s journey and creates accountability for team members throughout the sales pipeline can make or break your success. This kind of roadmap ensures that your team stays on top of their deliverables and is accountable for each task that is required for successful marketing and operations strategies.
Post-event opportunities
With the Post-Event Opportunities Template on monday.com, you can collect feedback easily to know if your event was successful. It offers a high-level overview of attendees’ satisfaction, available on an easy-to-use dashboard. This is a great way to follow up after your initial pros and cons template to determine if you need to go back to the drawing board and rethink your strategy before the next event takes place.
Single project
The Single Project Template allows you to utilize one template to organize tasks and set milestones and timelines. This template supports the project team so that they can view tasks in different views, such as timeline, calendar, Gantt, and other views, which brings visibility to statuses and upcoming due dates across multiple teams.
Frequently asked questions
What are pros and cons?
When weighing the pros and cons of any situation, you must first look at all the pros (or benefits) of a determined approach, then consider the cons (or negative aspects) of it. Often, the best pro versus con analysis is achieved through team collaboration, with each member contributing his or her outlook.
What is a pro/con analysis?
If you are pondering an important decision, a pro con analysis can help you determine the best course of action through an objective list of a situation’s benefits and drawbacks. Looking at what could cause problems versus what could provide benefits is an excellent way to make the best choices for any company strategy or marketing campaign.
Weighing pros and cons is a smart strategy
Making decisions for a business or department is never simple. Often, leaders must consider multiple moving parts before reaching the best answer to a business direction or challenge. At other times, it’s simply going with your gut as a business leader to put the best foot forward in your business strategy. monday.com provides managers and leaders with an all-in-one communications platform that offers multiple tools for creating pros and cons charts across teams in your organization.
Get started