“You can rely on George to roll up his sleeves and do what is needed on any consulting assignment. In our work together, I found that he was thoughtful and forthright with ideas, drawing on his extensive experience and wealth of knowledge. I also admired how he can quickly change his role, adapting to the needs of the client. He is comfortable and with all levels of employees, from presidents to front line sales people.”

— Beth Montag-Schmaltz
Founding Partner, PeopleFirm, LLC

Decision Defined

A decision is a choice between two or more alternatives. If you only have one alternative, you do not have a decision.

Webster’s 9th Dictionary says that to decide is to arrive at a solution that ends uncertainty or dispute. From Latin decidere which means to cut off.

A decision is an irrevocable allocation of resource. In other words, I have not decided to do something until I expend resources to do it. Up to that point it is only an intention. For example, I have not decided to go sailing until I’m actually out on the water, away from the dock on a boat. Anything short of that is still only an intention to go sailing.

When do you need Gimbal Systems?

No one likes to encounter any of the following issues. But problems can become opportunities for growth and success, especially when you partner with people who know how to leverage such challenges as these:

1. You’re seeing the same decisions repeatedly being made

2. You’re having to do more and more research and analysis to reach a decision

3. You’re on version 20 of an executive summary presentation and still don’t have a decision

4. You’re unclear on what it is you are actually trying to solve for in a decision

5. You’re in a highly political environment and you need more buy-in for a decision

6. You’re trying to think outside the box and need a way to generate more alternatives to consider

7. You’re considering a major strategy change and don’t know what the decision criteria should be given the amount of unknowns

8. You’re trying to develop a common corporate culture, language and process around decision-making

9. You’re looking to develop your organizations leaders’ or your own decision-making skills

Decision making is a defining characteristic of leadership. Making decisions is what managers and leaders are paid to do. The decision-making process is also a very powerful litmus test for the health of an organization because it is where leadership and organizational effectiveness collide. Strong companies are always able to answer the following questions. How do we make decisions? What is our process? Is it effective and efficient? Is there paralysis by analysis that leads to a decision never being made? If the answers to these questions are not known or inconsistent then in all probability, the quality of the decisions made is usually less than ideal, which is ultimately the truth for most companies. Gimbal Systems guides organizations and individuals through a process to make quality decisions.

Quality decision making requires discipline, which necessitates the following:

1. Realize when and why you need to make a decision.

2. Declare the decision: decide what the decision is about, determine how you’ll work the decision, and who should be involved in the process.

3. Work the decision: generate a complete set of alternatives, gather the information you need to understand the possibilities and probabilities, and ultimately make a choice that best fits your values.

4. Commit resources and act.

What is a High-Quality Decision?

A high quality decision comes with a warranty. Not a guarantee of a certain outcome, as there are certain things that just aren’t knowable until after they happen, but a promise that the process you used to arrive at a choice was a good one.

This level of confidence implies an intentional, thoughtful process: a set of steps and rules that provide an assurance of thoroughness and rigor. This means breaking decisions down into component parts and taking one step at a time. A rational decision process is important to overcome the blindspots and habitual behaviors and reactive tendencies that are characteristic of our comfort zone. These habitual patterns of thinking can lead to low quality decisions.

With a process or framework, you have the mechanism you need to warrant the quality of your own decisions. Perhaps more importantly, you also have a common language and set of mental models that make conversations about decisions more efficient and effective. This common understanding of decision processes, criteria, and roles helps you avoid many of the common organizational decision traps, allowing people in your organizations to spend their conversational energies on creating better alternatives and validating assumptions and ultimately warranting their own decisions. The result is a more efficient and effective decision-making process.

The framework Gimbal Systems uses for breaking down and working decisions of virtually any size and complexity begins with two large ideas: declaring a decision and working a decision. Each of those larger elements is then broken down into three sub-components, or what we call Decision Points, which are illustrated in the following diagram.

Gimbal Systems has partnered with the Decision Quality Institute to help consult and train organizations and individuals on this process. Our shared belief is that making high quality good decisions is the foundation for pro-activity, the mechanism for healthier organizations and ultimately better results.