Gunjan Doshi

In my last posting, I talked about viewing the world from your manager’s perspective. In this blog entry, I am going to talk about my decision making process; a four-question model to make and communicate quick, clean-cut strategic decisions.
Whenever, I have to make decisions that could affect other individuals, I use this model without fail. This model has proved to be the sharpest and most effective tool in my decision-making toolbox. Here is the model:

1. Should I be making the decision?
2. How can I make a well-informed decision in timely manner?
3. Whose feedback should I seek before making the decision?
4. What is the process of rolling out the decision?

Should I be making the decision?
This question has prevented me from making decisions that I should not be making.
For e.g., should I be making decisions on vacation policies? Well, the answer is no. Making decisions on vacation policies is the expertise of Human Resources. On the other hand, making decisions on release dates, process changes, and my department’s promotions is my area of accountability. One variation of this question I often use is, am I going to be 100% accountable for the outcome of the decision I make? If the answer is no, I know, I am not the right person to make this decision.

How can I make a well-informed decision in timely manner?
Now that you have decided to be accountable, ask yourself, “How can I make a well-informed decision in timely manner?” Making a decision means choosing one route among several available ones. It is vital to gather as much information as possible before making a decision. If you are feeling rushed, ask for more time.

Whose feedback should I seek before making the decision?
Before making key decisions, I never fail to get feedback from my manager, staff who reports to me and other key individuals. At work, I have a great support staff, which assists me in evaluating all the choices and helps me in making a thorough decision. In today’s business, quick and clean-cut decisions is the key and not rushed half-baked decisions.

What is the process of rolling out the decision?
Now that a decision is made, it is time to roll out the decision. Here, I ask two questions:
1. Who should be informed of the decision and when?
2. How should I communicate this decision? Should I communicate it via email, company blog, typed memo or a verbal discussion?
In your communication, try to articulate the decision, the expected changes and improvements. I always prefer face to face communication because of the available bandwidth. I never communicate important changes over email.

Finally, after rolling out the decision, periodically study the outcome of your decision, by talking to your employees or by using other feedback mechanisms like surveys, weekly meetings etc.

Tags: No Comments