Making Critical Decisions - It doesn't have to be "all on your shoulders"

Making Critical Decisions: It doesn't have to be "all on YOUR shoulders"

It took me a long time but I have learned how to involve others and their expertise into my decision making process so that I am honestly seeing issues and problems, not subjectively seeing them. Thats important and maybe even critical in key decisionmaking. Here's a few points that this can address:
1. Ramifications of the decision
Have you thought through the impact of your decision on internal staff, the implementation issues, its value v its premiss ROI? Have you though through its effect on Partners, Channels and their ability to remain Partners and Channels.In trying to come up with A good idea, see a problem and solve it, in trying to make decisions, you must first deeply understand the departments involved or effected by your scope of problem v solution or decisiopn making.

Let key people who deal with the area your decision will effect into your thought process. Lay out the issues, problems and ask them how your thoughts would effect their ability to deliver. Let them offer their experienced based insights. Your intended decision may be more upsetting than problem solving and, in this way, you will know it before you go with it.

2. Why Bother to Involve Others:
Sounds almost rediculous to ask but its how you justify and validate the merit of your path. Again, seek out the folks in sales, marketing, support, tech and manufacturing. Let them into your thinking and let them tell you if it effects them, how and if its even worthwhile. They can quantify the impact better than you because they know their side of the equation better than you.

3. Whats the machinery needed to implement the decision?
Very important because any decision must have the mechanics in place to become a real and implemented policy. Consider if you have the machinery in place for implementation. Identify who or which groups will be effected and get them to help you define and create the machinery so it gets done and it actually works as intended.

Great decisions fail when the mechanics of implementation are not in place and managed for taking the decision and implementing it.

4. After the decision is made...making it work
You made a decision because a "step" or "change" was necessary. Now you must make sure everyone is aware of the decision and how to "go with it". That means plan its implementation and include it as part of the process. Implementation considerations are critical to its success.

Each department needs to buy in for their reasons and see the decision as great for them. That means that announcements must be framed differently and precisely by department so it shows a correlation between the decision and how it impacts them specifically.

Dept heads must be involved in this framing and delivery of the decision and having the mechanics in place for implementation ready for instant management of the implementation.

Thats my take on the decision making.

Its not making the decision, its understanding why its needed, if and who it impacts and,if you go with the decision, implemented as seamlessly as possible so the intended results actually materialize.

Neil Licht, callhereweare@verizon.net