Envision that ”decision makers in an organization are floating in the stream, jostled gently by problems popping, intimidated by severe scares or even occasionally smacked hard by upsets. Their decisions are all anchors through action at a given time and a given place. Indeed, some anchors are placed too cautiously, but becoming numerous, they obstruct headway. In reality, decisions are streams of choices, that are anything but discrete events; rather, each separate decision combines as a force multiplier that, in the end, can sweep a decision maker down an unintended path if their capacity for maneuver is lost”. You cannot eliminate tradeoffs, only make them!
DEFRAGMENTOR uses the analogy of “Effect of anchors”;to explain that decisions are temporary thus merely anchors that give us a momentary respite to catch our breath, get our bearings and ready ourselves to navigate the next wave of decisions. In fact, the only difference between a strategic decision and one more tactical is the amount of time an anchor might hold you in place before the next wave of choices comes along. Letting go of an anchor is a natural part of progress. To avoid risk blindness, one must look into the water, to the wind, around the corner of the banks.
We are all aware of the difficulties of discontinuing work that has been identified (on an emotional basis) in the aftermath of a severe upset or incident. Due of the continued presence of the past’s guilt, it is almost impossible for senior executives to challenge hindsight recommendations in the aftermath of a scare. Reality have proven that accidents never happen in the exact same way, thus a lot of work, will never become anything other than a feel-good endeavor! Over time, as many other upsets manifests, most Organisations can hardly see the forest for threes as focus drifts towards continuously reprioritizing the backlog – risk blindness is progressing.
The effectiveness of decision making is equal parts of how you approach problem solving and how your organization is structured to facilitate making decisions. Are there characteristics within an organization’s structure that empower people to make more timely decisions? And more importantly, how do the organisation go about closing out perceived critical work still nonprioritized due to other new urgent tasks taking preference?
Those organisations, having the ability to draw on available information and insights, assess its effectiveness, and make timely needed course corrections all understand decisions being temporary. Their willingness to consult widely and building organisational competences of anticipation and adaptability comes out of an understanding that being prepared to be unprepared calls for different decisions a “capacity to only working the specifics. Rather than focusing on the anchors of the past, the scouting for EWI (Early Warning Indicators) is the art of understanding performance variations early on and to integrate this in both risk assessments and the later decision making. A natural part of this is the capability to openly escalate concerns.
Understandably, senior executives will develop preconceived notions of where the organization’s strengths lie, how the firm stacks up against the competition, what its customers want, and which risks are the most relevant to consider etc. However, these beliefs can cause executives to isolate themselves from critical external perspectives. Indeed, when senior executives work as a collective team within their organizations, their group-thinking can create a consensus-filter that blocks consideration of external views. Continuously scouting for external performance variation is fundamental to dispense with such predisposition.
Senge draws this point out, saying, “many people hold the idea that when leaders and teams engage in collective inquiry (group decision making), members’ isolation will de facto be reduced”. True and not true, but to break free of the myth of effective decision making, leaders must create a decision environment that not only encourages alternative solutions but fundamentally secure a capacity for maneuver not only after an upset has manifested and calls for excessive resources.
The paradox of decision making is that the very people best able to see early warning signs of change, are often in the worst position to help you see them too. Building the mindset and system for escalation of anticipated issues is key to effectively adapt to unexpected volatility. It is not enough to have a spare “anchor” if it is not adaptable to the situation of unpreparedness ahead.
Let me be direct: When confidence takes preference over competence – failure will succeed! The greater the risk and the more polarizing the environment, the more likely you will bear the burden of those who will second guess your decisions. Building a transparent decision-making process is often seen as a brave step, as executive leaders prefer to be able to keep their decisions somehow close. Risk professionals or “Captain Hindsight’s”, initially overreacting to scares and opposing of later cancellation is an amplifying factor to this.
DEFRAGMENTOR can assist any executive leader or organisation willing to better their decision making process by looking ahead rather than in hindsight. The DEFRAGMENTOR methodology and concept have documented results of an initial step-change reduction of “anchors” with no effect. Normally, we experience a +30% reduction of perceived criticsl work after the initial clean-up, followed by up to +50% reduction by those who dare to embed the new way of supporting decision making, this irrespectively of being a major Projects and a mature Asset.
DEFRAGMENTOR works towards scouting ahead and amplifying anticipatory competences into risk assessments. By escalation, many upsets then transform from surprise to known and adaptable. Let us help you to unchain you from the past set anchors by transforming your effectiveness from complex low to simple high.