Discussion: View Thread

Erwin makes a timely proposal.

Although much emphasis has been given to the flow of data and information,
then to business processes, then to workflow and now knowledge management,
the fact remains that the behavior of enterprises depends largely on the
quality and timing of their decisions.

Secondly, although the majority of educational institutions teach analytic
decision theory and practice (criteria, alternatives, scoring, selection)
the majority of actual decisions are made by informed intuition. Informed
intuition can be taught/learned.

Thirdly, as eBusiness evolves many choices are made by computers that follow
the business rules stated by people. The issue, here, is the quality of the
rules and the delegation of authority to be make such rules.

Decisions, decision flow management and decision follow-up (to verify that
the decision was implemented) are all three key to managing in these
increasingly dynamic times.


----- Original Message -----
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To: "Recipients of MG-ED-DV digests" <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2003 10:39 PM
Subject: MG-ED-DV Digest - 29 Aug 2003 to 30 Aug 2003 (#2003-157)


> There is one message totalling 41 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
> 1. Programs in leadership decisions
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2003 19:41:32 -0400
> From: Charles Wankel <wankelc@optonline.net>
> Subject: Programs in leadership decisions
>
> From: DidacticRa@aol.com [mailto:DidacticRa@aol.com]
>
> Hi, fellow list members
>
> In light of the ubiquitous need for sound leadership decisions, it might
be
> worthwhile to consider adding this topic to every educational and staff
> development program.
>
> We make a leadership decision whenever the decision affects individual
> and/or
> institutional stakeholders - which is the case with practically every
> decision. This is true whether we make the decision as an executive, as
> manager of a
> department, in our profession or function, as parent, when advocating an
> idea
> in a meeting, and when working on a project. It applies equally at work,
in
> our private lives and in our roles as members of an association or other
> group.
>
> Would any member of this list care to join me to explore how valid this
idea
> might be and, if it is considered to deserve serious consideration, how it
> might best be advocated and promoted so it might be implemented in
> educational
> and professional development programs.
>
> If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me by posting
here
> or by writing to me directly at didacticra@aol.com.
>
> I look forward to replies.
>
> Erwin (Rausch)
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of MG-ED-DV Digest - 29 Aug 2003 to 30 Aug 2003 (#2003-157)
> ***************************************************************
>
>

Colleagues,

Erwin has opened a powerfully important topic. Jack brings up "informed
intuition" as a component of management decision making. Dialog could and
probably should expand into subtopics as we explore this area.

For now, I am intrigued by "informed intuition." You see, I've spent the
last 15 years facilitating decisions by management teams in which their
intuition is distinctly wrong. Without a new decision process, they would
continue to make unproductive, sometimes even disastrous decisions.

The particular issue comes down to blind spots. For instance, a manager of
engineering applies every ounce of learned intuition to make the best
decision on product development, yet completely ignores entire suites of
criteria brought in by needs for brand development.
Not that manager's fault - he or she was never taught about branding.
Still, the decisions are weak at best.

As a criteria for effective decisions, let me suggest the concept of
dimensions.
We all know that it takes just three dimensions to describe the shape of
a box. X, Y, Z. Indeed, those dimensions can describe the shape of
anything inside or outside the box.
Now answer this. How many dimensions does it take to describe a box?
No, that isn't the same question. Before I asked about shape. Now I'm
asking about every characteristic of the box. Color, materials, strength,
how it opens, ability to hold water or maintain temperature, or contain
radioactivity, and on, and on.

How many dimensions does it take to define all the options of a decision?
Not an easy question.

In Jack's language, how many dimensions of "informed intuition" does it take
to make an effective decision?
In business, we tend to staff out dimensions. R&D, manufacturing,
marketing, finance, HR, and so on. Recently, the dimension of information
technology has become so important that IT is among the first staffed in new
companies.

Yet almost without fail, each department makes decisions based on distinctly
uninformed intuition. An old term is paradigms. HR makes its decisions
from an HR paradigm. Manufacturing can't understand the language or
reasoning of finance. IT seems to revel in its new jargon and its new
power, with virtually no concern for serving customers at a profit.

Each manager could work to discover the practical core dimensions of
intuition required for effective decisions in their domain. Then they could
develop decision tools to remind themselves that, for instance, brand is as
important to commercial success as are product features.

Known dimensions can become decision tools - a form of decision discipline.

The value of "dimension discipline" would be, in part, to overcome
uninformed intuition.

Best to all,

Gary

----------------------------
Innovation and Branding � done Strategically

Gary Lundquist - The Accelerator
303-840-9929 www.market-engineering.com
garyl@market-engineering.com

Making and keeping satisfied customers,
at a profit, over time,
in a competitive environment.