"A decision is a commitment to action under uncertainty.
A team has a decision in front of them: ship, delay, or cut scope. The meeting turns into a hunt for one more data point, and the conversation feels productive while nothing commits. The calendar advances anyway.
Raiffa’s point is that uncertainty does not pause responsibility. Not deciding is still a decision. It commits the system to drift, to last-minute escalation, or to whoever is loudest when time runs out. That is a commitment too, just an unowned one.
Draw a decision line that can survive pressure: what will be done next, what will not be done, and what signal would reopen the call. That turns uncertainty from a fog into a boundary the team can execute. Once the boundary is written, the room can stop negotiating reality.