Option Race

What it is

A gut pick against a scored race. Your mentee seals a gut pick, rates two to five options and sees the podium.

When to send it

Send it before a decision. It helps when the options are clear but the choice is not.

• Two or more pathsa job, a project, a course
• A decision that dragsthe same debate for weeks
• Head versus gutto see both side by side

Filling it in

Fifteen minutes, one step at a time. Write the question and options, seal your gut pick, then rate each option.

1. Write your optionsTwo to five; short names are enough.
2. Seal your gut pickTap your favourite without thinking; it opens after the race.
3. Race and see the podiumRate ease, time, cost and impact; impact counts double.

Reading the answers

Look at the podium and the seal. The summary shows the winner, the gut pick and whether they agree.

• Podium winnerthe highest score
• Gut picksealed before the race
• Gut and scoresagree, or differ: talk about it

Questions to ask

One question, then a follow-up. People who ask follow-up questions are liked more (Huang and others, 2017).

• Did the podium agree with your gut?then: how does that feel?
• If they differ, which one feels right, and why?then: what does your gut know?
• What would make the second option a winner?then: is that within reach?

Why it works

Rating options on a few plain criteria makes a choice clearer than weighing it all in your head (Hammond, Keeney & Raiffa 1999). Seeing an “answer” next to your sealed gut pick also shows what you really want: in a study, people who tossed a coin felt their preference more clearly (Jaffé et al. 2019).

Sources

• Hammond, J. S., Keeney, R. L. & Raiffa, H. (1999). Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Jaffé, M. E., Reutner, L. & Greifeneder, R. (2019). Catalyzing decisions: How a coin flip strengthens affective reactions. PLoS ONE, 14(8), e0220736.

How a tool works on Mentornity

1. 1The mentor picks a tool from the library and sends it with a short message.
2. 2The mentee fills it in step by step; the answers are saved as they go.
3. 3Both see the answers, comment on any part and agree the next steps.
4. 4Only the two of them see the answers, not the program admins.

Guides for both sides

• Option Race for MentorsFor mentors and coaches: when to send the Option Race, how to read the answers, which questions to ask and how to agree a next step.
• Option Race for MenteesFor mentees and coachees: what the Option Race is, how to fill it in, where to find it and what your mentor does with it.

More tools: Goals and action

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• Goal Clarity Map20 min

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• Why Elevator10 min

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• Inner Council15 min

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• Decision Balance15 min

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All tools →