01 10 min Free
Think Smart, Make Smart Decisions, Act Smart
Smart Decision Training rests on three rules — think openly, compare options, act ethically. Learn each one and what goes wrong when one is skipped.
10 min · beginner · certificate
Careers & Communication · learning path
Smart Decision Training
An 18-part path in making better decisions: think smart, make smart decisions, act smart. It covers information quality, emotion and pressure, peer pressure, systems thinking and congruence, and ends with a ten-question toolkit you can use on any decision at work. The first three are free.
- 18 steps
- ≈ 209 minutes in total
- 3 free
- Whole path: R355
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The path, step by step
Take them in order, or jump to what you need. Each step is a complete MicroQuest with its own certificate.
02 10 min Free
Thinking as Information Processing
Having an idea is not the same as thinking. Learn how Smart Decision Training defines thinking, and how wishes and assumptions quietly replace it.
10 min · beginner · certificate
03 10 min Free
What Is a Decision?
A decision is more than a preference or impulse. Learn what Smart Decision Training means by a decision and what should happen before you choose.
10 min · beginner · certificate
04 12 min R19
Data Integrity Analysis
Before you act on a message, report or rumour, check where it came from, how it travelled and what changed on the way.
12 min · beginner · certificate
05 12 min R19
Decision-Making Under Emotion, Excitement and Pressure
Anger, excitement, alcohol and "last chance" deals all squeeze your thinking. Learn simple safeguards that keep big decisions calm and informed.
12 min · beginner · certificate
06 12 min R19
Good Intentions Can Still Produce Bad Decisions
Meaning well is not the same as deciding well. See why kind motives still need correct information, clear thinking and a look at consequences.
12 min · beginner · certificate
07 10 min R19
How Information Sources Shape Decisions
Your sense of right and wrong came from somewhere. Learn the sources Smart Decision Training names, and how to check that a source fits the issue.
10 min · beginner · certificate
08 10 min R19
Information, Facts and Decision Quality
Not everything you are told is a fact. Learn to separate information from fact, see past slick packaging, and choose the right information for a decision.
10 min · beginner · certificate
09 12 min R19
Protect Decisions from Peer Pressure
Is it your choice, or the group's? Use simple self-check questions to test whether a decision fits your goals or is mainly about fitting in.
12 min · beginner · certificate
10 12 min R19
See the Bigger Picture with Systems Thinking
A fix in one place can cause a problem somewhere else. Learn to see each decision as part of a system of connected parts, so a local win does not become a wider loss.
12 min · beginner · certificate
11 12 min R19
The Action Process: Imagination, Thinking, Decision and Action
Every action starts as a thought. Learn the four-stage Action Process — imagination, thinking, decision, action — and how to stop impulses skipping straight to the end.
12 min · beginner · certificate
12 12 min R29
Broader Perspective, Open-Mindedness and Objectivity
The Toolkit's questions only work with the right mindset. Learn Broader Perspective, Open-Mindedness and Objectivity, and how to spot when one is slipping.
12 min · beginner · certificate
13 12 min R29
Corporate Decision Competence: Ethics, Risk and Strategic Alignment
Bring the whole pack together at work: validated information, ethics, risk, accountability and alignment in a fast-changing world.
12 min · beginner · certificate
14 12 min R29
Fundamental Congruence and Alignment
A choice can look great alone and still clash with everything around it. Learn to check purpose, relevance and connections before you commit resources.
12 min · beginner · certificate
15 12 min R29
Recognise Fundamental Incongruence
Some decisions fix one problem and quietly create three more. Learn to spot Fundamental Incongruence — friction from connections nobody checked.
12 min · beginner · certificate
16 13 min R29
Smart Decision Toolkit: Questions 1–3
Before you judge anything, understand it. Use the first three Smart Decision Toolkit questions — what it is, what it does and how, and why — on a real decision, step by step.
13 min · beginner · certificate
17 13 min R29
Smart Decision Toolkit: Questions 4–7
Knowing what something is does not tell you how much it matters. Use Toolkit Questions 4–7 to test failure risk, position, importance and the impact of removing or changing it.
13 min · beginner · certificate
18 13 min R29
Smart Decision Toolkit: Questions 8–10
A decision nobody owns and nobody measures quietly fails. Use Toolkit Questions 8–10 to name who is accountable, decide how success is measured and think through the wider consequences.
13 min · beginner · certificate
For employers, schools and training providers
Train a whole team, one short step at a time
Toolbox talks, inductions, refreshers and revision that people finish, because each one fits in a tea break and runs on the phone they already carry.
Need a topic we don't have? Request it. The topics people ask for most are the ones we write next.
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Give MicroQuests or credits
Your people get a WhatsApp message or an email link and learn on their own phones. No logins to manage.
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Pin a QR poster
Print an A4 poster for the canteen, staffroom or site office. A scan opens the MicroQuest.
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Verifiable certificates
Every completion has a numbered certificate you can check online, which is useful for toolbox talks and inductions.
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Your own MicroQuests
skillSYMS clients publish their own MicroQuests (policies, site rules, product knowledge) for their own people.
Smart Decision Training: questions
How much do the Smart Decision Training MicroQuests cost?
3 of the 18 are free. The others cost R19 or R29 each, paid securely online or with learning credits. If you don’t pass the challenge, you try again at no extra cost.
How long does each one take?
Between 10 and 13 minutes. Your progress is saved after every step, so you can stop and carry on later on the same or another device.
Where do I do them?
In your browser at skillsyms.com/learn, in the skillSYMS app, or on WhatsApp — the same MicroQuest, the same progress and the same certificate. There is nothing to install for the browser or WhatsApp.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Pass the final challenge and you receive a PDF certificate of completion with a unique number and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. MicroQuests are informal learning: the certificate is not an accredited qualification or SETA/QCTO credits, and it says so.
Can I buy these for my team or learners?
Yes. Employers, schools and training providers can give MicroQuests or learning credits to their people, who then learn on their own phones. Contact us and we will set it up with you.