decision making
TRANSCRIPT
1
Organising your DECISION
MAKING « CHECK LIST »
Decision Making by Roger Claessens, Prof. UBI
Roger Jean Claessens, international lecturer & consultant for the financial services industry.
• Professor at UBI (United Business Institutes), Brussels• Expert lecturer for FEBELFIN (Federation of banks & insurance in Belgium) • Expert lecturer for the EIB / EIF in Luxembourg• Expert lecturer for the Bank Association in Belgrade, Serbia
Author of :• “Corporate culture in Banking”, 2011, Serbian Bank Association (SBA) &
AuthorHouse, UK• “What is a bank?”, 2009, Promoculture & AuthorHouse, UK• “A brief introduction to accounting”, 2008, Unibook, Belgium • “Marketing in financial services”, 2007, SBA • “Branch Management”, with P. Wiertz,2006, Promoculture & SBA • “Ethics, corporate values and prevention of money laundering”, 2006, SBA
From: www.rogerclaessens.eu
2
3
Who are YOU ?
Could your neighbour introduce
YOU?
4
“45 % of all our decisions are wrong”
WHY?Roger Claessens, Prof. UBI
www.rogerclaessens.be
5
You may remember the…
1. Define
2. Measure
3. Analyse
4. Innovate or Improve
5. Control
5 Steps
DMAIC
7
7 Steps
1 Define2 Causes of problem3 Possible solutions4 Decide5 Responsibilities6 Evaluate results7 Test
8
3 R’s
Reflect RespondRevise
9
Maths
2
m
miim
im
10
We have TOOLS, don’t we?
11
Why such a high
%?
12
INTRODUCTION
13
PROGRAM
Workshop topics: 1. Creating consensus2. Accountability3. Leadership4. Structured thinking5. Intuitive thinking6. Communication7. Implementation8. Change management9. Conflict & performance10. Winning
14
CASE 1: IN THE ARIZONA DESERT
15
Getting out
• You are in the Arizona desert in the hottest time of the year. Because of a fire, the plane had to land and most of the contents have been destroyed but fortunately none of the three passengers and the pilot are hurt. You know that you are about 75 miles from the nearest town. Fortunately you have some pieces of equipment and items left that you could use for your survival.
• The decision to make is: either to stay put and wait for help or move and walk the 75 miles to the nearest town.
• Whatever the decision it needs to be taken unanimously!
16
Getting out• Below is list of available items, you should list them in order of importance to
your survival, one being the most important, and decide what items to take with you in case you decide to move. You may also take the decision to stay and wait for potential help but should still list the items in order of value to your survival:
1. Compass
2. Small transistor radio
3. Shaving mirror
4. Snake repellent
5. 5-liter of water for the four of you
6. 4 square meter of opaque plastic
7. Mosquito netting
17
8. 1 case of rations 9. Maps of the desert 10. Cushions11. 5 litre of an oil/gas
mixture 12. 1 bottle of rum13. Two boxes of
chocolate14. 5 meter of ropes15. One boomerang
18
Decision making
Stable environment
Frequent exposureExperience
System 1
Intuition
Result of what you know
Analytical part of the process
Remembering
System 2
Analysis
19
Decision Making
• Overestimation of intuition and underestimation of what we need for the analytical part of the decision making process will induce:
IRRATIONAL PERSEVERANCE
These slides are based on: “Thinking fast and slow” by
Daniel Kahneman
20
Decision Making
• System 1 operates automatically and quickly with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control. It includes the innate skills that we share with other animals.
• System 2 allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. It requires attention and effort.
• When system 1 runs into difficulty it calls on System 2 to support more detailed and specific processing.
21
Decision Making
• It is natural for System 1 to generate
overconfident judgements, because confidence is determined by the coherence of the best story you can tell from the evidence at hand.
• Therefore your intuitions will deliver predictions that are
too extreme and you will be inclined to put far too much faith in them
22
Decision Making
• System 2 is requires self-control, which requires attention and effort.
• Effort and will or self-control is tiring and often unpleasant!
• Following our intuitions is more natural and somehow more pleasant than acting against them.
23
Decision Making
• When people believe a conclusion is true, they are also very likely to believe the arguments that appear to support it, even when these arguments are unsound
• The extend of deliberate checking and search is a characteristic of System 2 as System 1 provides
impressions that often turn into beliefs and is the source of impulses that often become your actions.
24
Decision Making
• It often fails by lack of motivation• High intelligence does not make people immune to
biases
25
Decision Making
• The sense making machinery of System 1 makes us see the world as more tidy, simple, predictable, and coherent that it really is.
• The illusion that one has understood the past feeds the further illusion that one can predict and control the future.
• These illusions are comforting. They reduce the anxiety!• Various illusions: of skills, educated guesses, the
ignorance of one’s own ignorance, forecasting ability, of validity, expertise
26
Decision Making
• Expertise depends essentially on the quality and speed of feedback, as well as on sufficient opportunity to practice.
• Evaluating expertise means considering whether there was an adequate opportunity to learn even in a regular environment.
27
Decision Making
• Intuition is nothing more and nothing less
Recognition• We are often wrong, and an objective observer is more
likely to detect our errors than we are
• Luck plays a large role in every story of success!
28
Decision Making
• When faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the
Substitution
• There are several ways human choices deviate from the
rules of Rationality
29
Decision Making
• A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is
frequent repetition because familiarity is not easily
distinguished from truth.• Authoritarian and marketers have always know that fact!• Very little repetition is needed for a new experience to
feel normal.
30
Decision Making
• We tend to exaggerate our ability to forecast the future, which fosters optimistic overconfidence.
• Optimism is a state of mind, often inherited• More often optimism leads to underestimate the odds
they face and do not invest sufficient effort to find out what the odds are.
• “ The evidence suggests that optimism is widespread, stubborn and costly!
31
Decision Making
• We focus on what we know and neglect what we do not know, which makes us overly confident in our beliefs.
• Both in explaining the past and prediction the future, we focus on the causal role and skill and neglect the
role of luck. • We are therefore prone to the an illusion of control.
32
Decision Making
• Whenever you form an evaluation of complex object, you assign weights to its characteristics.
• The weighting occurs whether or not you are aware of it; it is an operation of system 1
• The weights are certainly correlated with the probabilities of the outcomes.
• The more probable an outcome, the more weight it should have
33
Decision Making
“An inability to be guided by a “healthy fear” of bad
consequences is a disastrous flaw !
“When you specify a possible event in greater detail you can only lower its probability”
34
Decision Making - CONCLUSION
• System 1 does the fast thinking & the effortful and slower system 2 - which does the slow thinking – monitors
system 1 and maintains control as best as it can within its limited resources
• However, system 2 is not a paragon of rationality. Its
ability are limited and so is the knowledge to which it has access.
Creating consensus
1. Clearly frame the issue to be decided & determine the result you desire to achieve (during the meeting).
2. Clearly explain the process of decision making which will be used.
3. Clearly explain the role of the facilitator.
4. Use a "straw polling" procedure to see how the group is leaning on an issue and to facilitate the decision making process.
35
5. The standard for consensus is that the whole group must agree with the decision. Each individual member must agree that the decision is what he or she wants. Do not allow the standard to drop to "I can live with it." or "I'll go along to get this meeting over with." Encourage participants to stand their ground.
6. 6. Expect dissent and disagreement during the process and view this as a positive step towards a high quality decision. Decisions made without dissent are often of poor quality.
7. Encourage participants to be direct and concise in all communications.
36
Creating consensus
8. Encourage everyone to actively listen to each person in the group and to seek to understand other points of view. Look for the possible merit of each other's opinions.
9. Encourage everyone to approach the meeting and the decision in a rational manner rather than an emotional one.
10. If the meeting gets off track or people become focuses on their own comfort or emotion, re-focus the group on the desired result
37
Creating consensus
Checklist
38
Good decisions require consensus Good decisions require a structured
approach and methodology Good decisions should “in general” be a
healthy combination of system 1 and 2
39
CASE 2: ENRON
41
16 YEARS TO GO FROM 10bn TO 65bn &
24 DAYS TO GO BANKRUPT
ENRON IS NOT ABOUT NUMBERS BUT ABOUT PEOPLE _ IN REALITIY IT IS: A HUMAN TRAGEDY
42
• What were the CONSEQUENCES of the wrong decisions?
• What would have been CORRECT decisions?
Discussion
43
WHAT WENT WRONG? Senior management unloading stock? Substantial contributions to political parties Shredded documents Manipulating market risk Unusual high profits
44
WHAT WENT WRONG? Feeling of something unusual going on Falsified bank records Manipulation of earnings Trading beyond stated limits Unread reports Inappropriate use of legal loopholes
45
WHAT WENT WRONG? Booking potential profits at the moment of the
conclusion of a contract Hypothetical future value accounting Performance evaluation system taken to the extreme
46
WHAT WENT WRONG? Profits without ethics Black box accounting « You have to do whatever you have to do t stay
there! » Stock manipulation Abusive public relations
47
WHAT WENT WRONG? Convincing anyone else that they are smarter Unusual large profits & risk taking Abuse of deregulation Many un-answered questions
48
WHAT WENT WRONG? Pressure to do business at any price or abuse Corruption Perception = the reality Plenty of warning signs without control Conflict of interest – special purpose vehicles
49
WHAT WENT WRONG? Ambition versus modesty Demonstrated dangers of structured finance Lack of independance Using company stock to garantee own transactions GREED Sale – repurchase transactions (warehousing)
50
WHAT WENT WRONG? How is it that they reach the numbers? Traders run the company Absence of whistle blowing procedures DEADLY MISTAKE of ARTHUR ANDERSON =
Death of the company itself
52
Discussion
What have you learned from the ENRON
case?
53
Discussion
What would be appropriate
tools to assure accountability?
54
TOOLS TO ACHIEVE THIS
1. Management by objectives2. Code of conduct3. Performance evaluation4. Mission statements5. Internal and external communication6. Determine key values 7. Determine behavioural norms8. Requires leadership
55
Good decisions have taken consequences into account
Good decisions entail clearly defined responsibilities
Good decisions require the right corporate culture
Checklist
TO REMEMBER - Accountability
56
Accountability is the concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving.
(Source: Wikipedia)
57
Corporate governance
Corporate governance is about:
Assuring a correct management and control of a company, based on laws and rules and « behaviour » of management and staff!
It implies duties such as: • An effective and efficient control• Solvency• Discipline of all involved
58
The ten (10) principles of corporate governance1. Required qualifications of the principal shareholders2. Adequate management structure3. Clear guidelines for powers and responsibilities4. Definition of individual tasks among management5. Independence of the control functions6. Required qualities of the managers7. Financial reward of the managers8. Strategic objectives, corporate values and avoidance of
conflict of interest9. Corporate structures and products10. Publicity in publications
Corporate governance
59
Governance
Structure
& Operation
s
Control
& Audit
Action
Corporate governance
60
Leadership
61
« Every day in life, there is a new
question. That is what keeps us
going. »
62
According to Jack Welch What leaders do
1.They relentlessly upgrade their team
2.They live and breathe their vision
3.They exude positive energy and optimism
4.They establish trust and transparency
5.They have to courage to take unpopular decisions
6.They probe and push with a curiosity
7.They set the example
8.They celebrate
63
Motivation
In the final analysis a variety of SKILLS will contribute as much as your formal academic training to
your and the organisation’s SUCCESS
64
Assessing Your Ability
No matter what life throws at you in a day, always keep FOCUSED on your goals.
« Does is matter to my goal?» If not, then cross it off!
Checklist
65
Good decisions require leadership Good decisions require the knowledge of the
broader picture
66
TOOLS TO ACHIEVE THIS
1. Strict adherence to (behavioural) norms2. Internal and external communication3. Clearly spelled out procedures4. Efficient and effective controls5. Efficient reporting6. Hands on management 7. The qualities of good leaders
67
CASE 3: SUB PRIME
69
• What were the CONSEQUENCES of the wrong decisions?
• What would have been CORRECT decisions?
Discussion
70
In your view:(1)What could or should have
been done? (2)Is regulation the answer?(3)Will it re-occur?
Discussion
The subprime crisis
70
71
WHAT are the characteristics of a good credit?The five C’s of Credit assessment
– Character - the willingness of the borrower to repay
– Capacity - the ability to repay the debt from cash flow
– Collateral - the security backing the loan
– Capital - the strength of the borrower’s balance-sheet
– Conditions - the sensitivity of the project to outside factors such as economic cycles and competition
72
WHAT WENT WRONG? So superficial No “hands-on” management Control & audit Reporting No understanding
73
WHAT WENT WRONG? Feeling of something unusual going on Unread reports Inappropriate use of legal loopholes Profits without ethics Abusive public relations Black box accounting
74
WHAT WENT WRONG? Convincing anyone else that they are smarter Unusual large profits & risk taking Many un-answered questions Pressure to do business at any price or abuse Perception = the reality No or little values
75
WHAT WENT WRONG? Lack of structured thinking
1. Simplification to allow for best & worse case scenario
2. Visualisation to understand the issues
3. Assuring the understanding of the key issues
4. Right presentation to allow for an educated decision making
5. Associations are a strong helping hand
77
CASE 4: MARGIN CALL
79
Good decisions require skills Good decisions require anticipation Good decisions require structured thinking
Checklist
Think Different
Kick start your brain. New ideas
come from watching
something, talking to people,
experimenting, asking questions, getting out of the
office
- Steve Jobs
http://steve-jobs-biography.pics-grabber.appspot.com/
Stev
e W
heel
er, U
nive
rsity
of P
lym
outh
, 201
1
81
How does brainstorming work?
82
How does brainstorming work?
83
How does brainstorming work?
84
85
86
Management by questions
This PC is the result of a way of thinking:
Better
Faster
Cheaper
Smaller
Simpler
How does brainstorming work?
87
88
Decisions and Communication
89
Communication
« Communications are an essential part of what you have to
offer to the stakeholders »
(Michael Dell)
90
• « Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of establishing and maintaining a favourable reputation with stakeholders groups upon which the organisation is dependent. »
(J. Cornelissen)
Communication
91
Communication requires• An emphasis on dialogue and interactivity• Focus on stakeholders’ needs• Involvement of all functions and people• A focus on branding (excellence)• A focus on how well staff members are regarded• A focus on the context• The willingness to be a key driver• Branding as a key aim
Communication
92
The goal of communication • Is geared towards establishing a favourable corporate
image and reputation with all the stakeholders, so that they act in a way that is conductive to the success of the organisation!
• It is the spectre of damaged reputation that lies behind the urgency of doing and saying the right things, now!
Communication
93
CASE 5: COMMUNICATION MANAGER
94
Workshop
What competencies and skills does a professional
communicator need?
95
Communication
• Promises arise from spoken and written communication
• It is a matter of gaining a position in the minds of the stakeholders
96
Communication
Remember the basic structure of any message
SITUATION PROBLEMINFOR-
MATIONCONCLUSION
IMPLICIT EXPLICIT
97
Communication
There are three concepts that form the theoretical foundation of corporate communication:
1. The stakeholders
2. The corporate identity
3. The reputation
• Organisations have realised that now more than ever they need to listen to and communicate with a large range of stakeholders
98
Communication- stakeholders
organisation
investorspolitical groups
customers
communitiesemployees
trade associations
suppliers
governments
Source: Corporate communication, J. Cornelissen
99
Communication
Stakeholders
• A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organisation’s purpose and objectives
• The interest can be of an economic or of moral nature.
• Example of community stakeholders: consumers, regulators, government,media, local communities,pressure groups
100
Communication
stakeholder awareness understanding involvement commitment
tactics newslettersreportsmemosfree adds
discussionsmeetingsadvertisingeducational campaigns
consultationdebate
collective problem solving
type of strategy
informational persuasive dialogue dialogue
Source: Corporate communication, J. Cornelissen
101
Communication
A communication strategy should be based upon an assessment of the GAP between how the issue is currently seen and how YOU want it to be seen.
102
Communication
The challenge is to be brief, structured, focused
103
Communication
Communication requires an interface between what is being said and what is being done
The importance of the communication channel
104
THE NEW MEDIA
105
• Internet– Website– Static content– 1 webmaster– Yearly content update
• E-mail– One to one– One to many
• Forum - Blog• Wiki
– Dynamic content– Community– Continuous update
• Social networks– Collaborative content – Many to many
communication
From INTERNET to the Web 2.0
106
Website
Blog
Sharing between the TOOLS
107
108
Professional use of NEW MEDIA
“The rise of social media makes it more important than ever to get the branding fundamentals right”
“You do not need to rewrite the marketing playbook but to exploit social media opportunities while keeping an UNWAVERING FOCUS on meeting the customers’ needs”
HBR Dec, 2010
109
PROBLEM SOLVING & IMPLEMENTATION
111
1. Define
2. Measure
3. Analyse
4. Innovate or Improve
5. Control
Implementation
DMAIC
112
Define
Improving the drivers impacts the results
resultsleadership planning customer
market
HR & mgt
processes
113
Define
Where are we?
Where are we going?
How do we get there?
How do we know we are getting closer?
Assessment Planning Processes
Performance indicators
114
Define
Improving the drivers impacts the results
Resultsleadership planning customer
market
HR & mgt
processes
improved motivation
improved service
115
Define
What is a process?
INPUT OUTPUT
• A process is a set of linked or related activities transforming inputs
• The quality of the process determines the quality of the output
116
Define
• A project needs a project leader
• Determine the role of the key players
• Define the boundaries of the project
• Help clarifying the objectives
• Define which information is needed
• Determine his role (desire to have power over a team is a no-win situation!)
117
Define
A project leader’s check list:
1. The problem
2. The goal
3. Role expectations
4. People involved
5. Restrictions
6. Reporting
7. Next stage
118
Define
A project will have greater success if:• The problem is related to a key business issue• The problem is linked to a clearly defined process• The internal and external beneficiaries are clearly identified• The improvements can be demonstrated• The improvements contribute to the overall performance• There is sufficient organisational support• The results are visible with a pay-back period
119
Define
Example of a potential result analysis
Expected improvement
Benefit of that improvement
Expected busines impact
Reduce errors in processing
Less time spend fixing errors, speed up work flow
5 % increase in monthly revenues
120
Define
A project leader’s chart:
How to DMAIC & define the milestones & create a milestone plan
What is a milestone? Milestones are:
• Measurement points
• Indicate a logical order
• Directed towards the goal
• Allow for communication
Project start Finish
121
DefineQuestions to consider
ProjectWhat issues are you addressing?What problems do customers have with the process?
Expected business resultsWhat will be the business impact of the improving process?How will team members benefit from succesful completion of this project?
FocusWhat information will be collected?What areas are inside or outside the scope of the team?On what specific parts of the process will the team focus?
DeliverablesWhat must the team deliver to be succesful?
MeasuresWhat will be the primary measure of successHow will measures be tracked?How much improvement is needed and when?
122
Measure
Data collection Collecting and analyzing
data takes time and resources.
It is important to ensure sufficient data, in quantity and type, is collected right from the start to prevent having to collect more data down the road.
123
Measure
Data collection However, do not get
overwhelmed by to much data. Make sure they can still be reasonably analyzed and understood, taking into account the time and methods available.
Part of the challenge is to decide just how much data will be sufficient (and representative) to reach a perfect balance.
124
Analyse
Tools for analysis - a time plot is a graph of data ordered in time
3020100
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
Nu
mb
er o
f d
ays
125
Plan
Check Do
Adjus
t
Improve
126
Without measures, managers have no basis for :• Specifically communicating performance expectations to
subordinates;• Knowing what is going on in their organization;• Deploying their strategy down to the lowest level;• Effectively making and supporting decisions regarding
resources, plans, policies, schedules and structures;• Providing feedback that compares performance to a
target.
Control
127
Good decisions require clear communication Good decisions require a systematic
implementation & performance measurement
Good decisions require a disciplined approach
Checklist
128
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
129
Changing attitudes
What are obstacles to change?
Discussion
130
personality structure
motivation
opinions,principles
rational
Changing attitudes is a challenge
confirmation,
justification
decisions
80% of the activities of
people
Changing attitudes
131
Changing attitudes
• Standards are made to be followed not to be improved.
• Cowboy individualism
• Fear of the unknown
• What is in it for me only?
• « Been there, done that… »
The wrong attitudes
132
Why Do People Resist Change?• The phrase, “overcoming resistance,” indicates an adversarial
relationship … since resistance is an emotional process, the key is understanding it:
– People resist change because the change is:
• Perceived by them to be negative, and
• They do not want to deal with the reasons for it
– Resistance is a way of expressing feelings of concern about making a change
– These concerns tend to be:
• Concerns over loss of control
• Concerns over vulnerability
– Your task is to help the person who is resisting change to express these concerns directly
133
Why Resistance Occurs . . .• Resistance can occur because
people fear:– Loss of credibility or reputation
– Lack of career or financial advancement
– Possible damage to relationships with boss
– Loss of employment
– Interpersonal rejection
– Change in job role
– Embarrassment/loss of self-esteem
– Job transfer or demotion
Real/Underlying Concerns
Indirect Expressions of Concerns/
Visible Resistance
Your task is to encourage the full expression of the real/underlying concerns.
Your task is to encourage the full expression of the real/underlying concerns.
134
Three Steps to Dealing with Resistance
• Step 1: Identify the form the resistance is taking:– Trust what you see more than what you hear– Pick up cues– Listen to yourself — use your own feelings as a barometer
• Uneasy, bored, irritated– Listen for repetition/telltale phrases– Make two good-faith responses
• Step 2: Acknowledge, name the resistance:– Tell person your perception of the resistance– Do it in a “win/win” manner; neutral, non-aggressive - “What I think I hear you
saying is . . .”– Tell the person how the resistance is making you feel– Be specific, clear, authentic
• Step 3: Be quiet, listen, let the person respond:– Get him/her talking– Encourage full expression of the concerns– Gradually uncover underlying resistance/issue - be aware of other forms of
resistance surfacing
135
• Provide appropriate training in new skills and coaching in new values and behaviors
• Encourage self-management
• Give more feedback than usual to ensure people always know where they stand
• Allow for resistance. Help people let go of the “old”
• Measure results, step back and take a look at what is going on. Keep asking “Is the change working the way we want it to?”
• Encourage people to think and act creatively
• Look for any “opportunity” created by the change
• Allow for withdrawal and return of people who are temporarily resistant
Tactics to Minimise Resistance• Explain why
• Identify the benefits• Invite and answer questions
• Solicit participation, and, if possible, early involvement
• (“first-draft/strawmodel” reviews, membership in planning/implementation teams, etc.)
• Avoid surprises
• Set standards and clear targets
• Inform/involve informal leaders• Recognize and reward efforts• Over communicate
136
Changing attitudes
• Excellent people and companies focus primarily on beating themselves
• How can we improve ourselves to do better tomorrow than we did today?
• Where can we improve the end to end process?
• You are the only one who can change YOU = M.B.O.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES !
The right attitudes
137
Every member of staff is at the beginning of a personal value chain
Trust SatisfactionYour
know-how Professional
AppreciationStatus
& Income
Changing attitudesChanging attitudes
138
• Transforming corporate performance by measuring and managing the drivers of business success
• 80 % of change initiatives fail due to human factors
• An organisation moves slower than the individuals who make up the organisation!
Changing attitudes
139
What are the qualities of an evaluation process?
MBO should be a win-win situation!
140
The qualities of an evaluation process
1. Importance of the process
2. Partnership
3. Respect
4. Constructive
5. Objective
6. Specific
MBO should be a win-win situation!
Changing attitudes
141
How can you be sure the system works? • By being fair, by rewarding those who really want
to move forward and by penalising those who do not. It is a system whereby you either move upwards or outwards but where there is no room for mediocrity.
• Average performance pushes overall performance downwards.
• You want to move upwards, not downwards.
Changing attitudes
142You want to move upwards, not downwards.
Changing attitudes
143
• The ultimate goal is to be
seen to be better than the others or at least different than the others!
• It is the responsibility of everybody, irrespective of that person’s position in the organisation.
Changing attitudes
144
Decisions…, don’t forget
the MYTHS
• GOOD DECISIONS LEAD TO
145
Final points
• Decision making is not an exact science,• Behind data there are men and women!• Thinking is not a tidy process but it should be
done with a sense of order• Remember that solutions are the seed of new
problems
146
Final points
• Bad decisions are unforced errors but if you want to win their number should be limited
• It is always worthwhile to listen to people• A problem is a solution in disguise• Brainstorming: reverse brainstorming = in how
many ways can this idea fail?
147
Other final points
• We need critical input from others to remove the filters from our eyes
• Remember the mental roadblocks:– Lack of facts– Lack of conviction– Lack of a starting point– Lack of perspective– Lack of motivation
148
Other final points
• IF YOU TRULY WANT TO DEVELOP YOUR THINKING SKILLS, YOUR TASK IS ESSENTIALLY ONE OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT
149
Other final points
• A STRONG MESSAGE HAS TO BE DELIVERED BY THE NUMBER ONE
• DATA WITH A SOUL IS A STORY
150
The 20 steps for good DECISIONS
1. Examine every alternative
2. Use previous decisions if the are still applicable
3. Make long term decisions with the short term in mind
4. Change decisions that are no longer appropriate
5. Consider the implications of each decision
151
The 20 steps for good DECISIONS
6. Try to foresee and prepare for any changes
7. Always ask what can go wrong with your decision
8. Always consider the possible outcomes
9. Always try to balance intuition and logic
10.Avoid making decision that have a large element of chance in them
152
The 20 steps for good DECISIONS
11.Follow a precedent when it works
12.Challenge the company culture if need be
13.Be aware of politics behind decisions
14.Weigh the impact of decisions on people
15.Do not be afraid to delegate the process
153
The 20 steps for good DECISIONS
16.Do not be afraid of rejection, think about an alternative
17.Build your trust in decision making
18.Never make decisions under pressure
19.If it proves to be a wrong decision, take fast action
20.Never postpone vital decisions – make them quickly
154
« Corporate reputations, branding and HR », G.Martin &
S.Hetrick, BH, 2006
« Corporate communication »,J.Cornelissen, Sage, 2008
« Blink », Malcolm Gladwell, Back Bay Books, 2005
« Thinking,fast and slow », Daniel Kahneman, Allen Lane, 2011
REFERENCES
155
156WHAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DO AFTER
A GOOD DECISION