Recently, the board of a startup I sit on was facing an important decision. The company was raising a new round of funding, and we had the happy dilemma of choosing between four compelling offers. Everyone had a strong opinion of which was best, none of which were the same.

The group kept re-stating their broad declarations of what was most important. The temperature rose (if that can happen on conference call). When we seemed at a breaking point, I got the group to try the matrix. We quickly came up with five criteria and agreed to assign each points, with a total of 100 available.

You can use the Rehmus Matrix as I do to come to quick decisions about everyday questions. You can also use it in more complex contexts to build consensus among competing interests. But no matter which you do, rest assured you'll be in good company. After all, Ben Franklin used it too.