Critical
Decision Making
By
Ed Rigsbee, CSP
(322 words)
In the mid-1990s I was an adjunct
professor for the graduate program at California
Lutheran
University
in Thousand Oaks,
California. I recently had lunch with one of my students from that time—James
Welch—and I will report that the student has become the teacher. He is
currently working on his doctorate, specializing in the area of critical
decision making.
Jim shared with me the idea of first
framing the problem and then suggested five important methods which
people employ in their decision making process:
- Experience,
also referred to as shortcut thinking is where one only uses their
personal experiences to decide—relying on the idea that based on
one’s experience; situation “A” requires solution “B”
rather than considering other possibilities.
- Best
practices of other businesses, very hot today in management
circles. In this situation, frequently the decision is made to adopt
what others have successfully done, perhaps rather than to adapt the
idea to their particular situation.
- Reasoning
generally alludes to approaching things through a more logical
thought process—this is very good. However it is not necessarily
strategically aligned to the organization’s goals.
- Collaboration
among all involved. Jim made it a point to distinguish between
cooperation, where people have agreement, and not necessarily
emotional ownership, verses collaboration where people will
generally bond—big difference in my book.
- Strategy
based decision making. This is where the overall strategy of an
organization is in the forefront of everyone’s mind and the
challenge is framed in a way that is understood by all. Strategic
thinking should be embraced throughout every organization.
I so much appreciated the student
becoming the teacher that I’ve added some of Jim’s ideas into my
seminar titled, Let’s Get Along & Be More Productive;
Purposeful
Interdepartmental Collaboration.
I challenge you to consider the above
methods of decision making when you are attempting to resolve your
challenges at work, and at home.
Copyright
2010 Ed Rigsbee
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Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the
author of PartnerShift, Developing
Strategic Alliances and The
Art of Partnering. Additionally, he has over 1,500 published articles to his
credit. Ed travels internationally to deliver strategic alliance keynotes
and workshops. He can be reached at (805) 498-5720, ed@rigsbee.com or visit www.rigsbee.com.
To
access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge,
please visit www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm.
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