The John Adair Handbook of Management and Leadership

Chapter 3: Decision-making and problem-solving 47

The hallmarks of the analytical mind are that it:

1 establishes the relationship between the parts and the whole

2 finds the root cause(s) of the problem

3 identifies the issue(s) at stake, the ‘either / or’ upon which a

decision rests.

Analytical ability is improved by:

• working from first principles


• establishing the facts and separating them from opinions,
  assumptions or suppositions


• asking yourself questions (as in ‘When did the problem first
  arise?’ as well as our six friends Who,What,Why,When,Where
  and How?


• constantly checking the premise and/or logical steps which
  can undermine good reasoning


• thinking backwards from the desired outcome


• organising the facts


• seeing the problem as a solution in disguise.
  Analysis is not, however, an end in itself and trying to over-analyse
  can lead to inactivity or ‘paralysis by analysis’ as it has been called.

Synthesis

Decision-making requires an individual to ‘take a view’ and that

depends on the ability to combine parts or elements to form a whole:

synthesis. Holistic is a useful word to use in this regard as it also

conveys the approach, especially in business, which recognises that

‘wholes’ are produced by grouping various units together where it

is difficult to analyse them into their parts without losing this

wholeness. Hence an holistic view needs to be taken in business

decision-making.