Encyclopedia of Leadership

7.5

DECISION MAKING: MAKING DECISIONS

LOGICAL AND DEFENSIBLE

Inspired by Ben Tregoe and Chuck Kepner.

Important decisions that leaders make are rarely without ambiguity or controversy. Yet, decide

they must; it’s part of the job. But this job becomes easier if leaders have access to a general-

purpose decision-making tool that meets two criteria:

i. It’s logically defensible—the quality side of the decision.

ii. It’s supported by key stakeholders—the commitment side of the decision.

Use this process to enhance the quality of your decisions. In addition, involving appropri-

ate stakeholders in the process will lead to higher levels of commitment to these decisions.

 Define the goal of the decision: [☛2.7 Goal Statements, 7.1 Problem Framing]

• Check the frame of the decision: “What’s in the running, and what’s out?”
   Brainstorm, then agree on decision criteria: [☛6.9 Brainstorming]


• Clarify the criteria for making the decision.


• Separate the “musts” (results that must be obtained), from the “wants” (desired but
  not essential).


• Rank the “want” criteria in order of importance, or rate their importance on a scale
  of 1 to 10. [☛10.11 Priority Setting]
  Identify possible decision options.
  Rate these decision options against the decision criteria:


• You may wish to rate how well an option meets a criterion on a scale of 1 to 10.
  Identify the risks and limitations for the highest-rated option(s).
  Using your decision criteria, select the option with the best rating and the most man-
  ageable risks.

SECTION 7 TOOLS FORPROBLEMSOLVING, DECISIONMAKING, ANDQUALITY 215

List all conceivable decision

criteria. (Be creative.)

Next, organize and define each

criterion as clearly as you can,

then rank.

Evaluate

option against

criteria (1–10).

Total =

Evaluate

option against

criteria (1–10).

Total =

Evaluate

option against

criteria (1–10).

Total =

Brainstormed Criteria

criteria clarified and ranked

Selection criteria: Option 1 Option 2 Option 3

Results—desirable and undesirable

Decision Goal:What do we want to accomplish as a result of this decision?