Having more than one priority is one of the reasons why decision making in some companies feels so difficult.
Imagine we are SuperSafe Corp and we build safes. We want to build the safest, most affordable safes. Now what does that mean when faced with a decision among the two attributes?
E.g. when faced with the decision between two different materials, one of which is safer but more expensive, what do we do? Do we make it safer or more affordable?
Making both attributes a priority turns every decision like this into a struggle.
If, however, our priority was to make “the safest safe under 10.000$”, then the decision basically makes itself: If it fits in the budget, then go for the safer material, else don’t. We have turned one priority into a constraint.
When we have two priorities at the same time it means that we want two different things at the same time. This can easily lead us into a conflict. Wanting to do one thing but knowing that there’s a border you can’t or won’t cross, is different.
