Making Better Decisions
Sandeep Ohri - That Strategy Guy
Designing Business Strategy using Behavioural Science | Speaker | Workshops | 4x Entrepreneur | Visiting Faculty | Independent Director |Certified by Ogilvy Consulting, UK & Irrational Labs, USA | Rotarian
What we can learn from Military Theatre Command!
There’s nothing that mobilizes diverse and distributed resources more effectively than when a country is facing a national security emergency, like war!
Data tells us that 90% of all new businesses fail, with only 9% of small businesses surviving 10 years, that too, by continuously changing their business model.
Today’s fast-changing and highly competitive business environment is nothing short of a fight for survival for most entrepreneurs.
Individuals are also dealing with huge amounts of information and cognitive overload.
While the difference between failure, survival and success depends on several factors, one key factor is the ability to make good decisions.
Entrepreneurs can do themselves a big favor by taking a closer look at how countries pull themselves together when faced with challenges to national security.
To add to this is what Behavioral Science tells us: we suffer from decision fatigue, from having to make too many decisions. As a result, we don’t make the best decisions possible.
To avoid this, we need to be aware of what type of decisions we are making and cut down the unnecessary ones.
World War II
In January 1942, just a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, US President Franklin D Roosevelt ordered the establishment of the War Production Board.
It mandated the conversion of factories of “peacetime” (civilian) industries into factories of weapons and military equipment.
For instance:
The mandate also ensured that other materials considered essential for war, like petroleum products, rubber, paper, plastic, metals, etc., were used first for military purposes and strictly rationed by civilians.
Military Decision Making
Military commands all over the world follow strict doctrines on how decisions are made, up, down and across hierarchies and functional areas.
The objective is to have a clear and cohesive action plan which is effective and efficient during an emergency.
There is a key Doctrine followed by the United States Armed Forces which talks of the three Levels of Warfare:
In a similar style, in the Indian context, this would possibly go something like this:
So, while the Defense Ministry in the nation’s capital will concern itself with the strategic (bigger picture), the operational commands and forward units will take care of the operational and tactical steps on the battlefront.
This type of breakdown of decision making ensures no one team is overburdened with making ALL the decisions, and people with different levels of expertise can be brought in to do what is necessary.
In fact, at every subsequent level too, every decision maker can use this methodology to break down the work and execute it better.
Business Decision Making
Knowing how this works, businesses can also frame similar methods to get better results from improved decision making.
Starting from a very broad objective, right down to the execution details.
For instance:
Those sitting at the Board level in the company HQ need not, rather SHOULD NOT really be discussing slab discounts.
Implementing and following this method has the following benefits:
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Another Alignment Analogy
2 years ago, I wrote an article about what matters more: Performance or Attitude (link below).
With Performance being easier to evaluate, as results are more tangible; and Attitude, which lies “beneath the surface,” being more challenging to determine – but both having their respective places of significance.
That article drew a correlation between the thought process of Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle of Start With Why and James Clear’s Atomic Habits.
Today, I’m drawing another correlation: between Simon Sinek and the above Military Doctrine.
You will notice how both these seem to be perfectly aligned!
Personal and Professional Decisions
And here’s the clincher!
The above analogy can bring this methodology into the personal and professional decision-making realm as well!
Each of us can use this for a variety of issues that concern us on an individual level.
For example:
?
Here’s another one:
Using this methodology, you can break down just about anything, which will help you make better decisions and hopefully, get better outcomes, consistently!
Try it for a while and let me know how it worked out for you.
If you know of, or have used, some other methods that have worked for you, do share it here and let collective wisdom contribute to our knowledge.
Well, now you know it too!
I will be writing in depth articles once every 2 weeks, and if you think these could help you, you may want to click the “Subscribe” button in the upper right corner of the page. To connect with me, click here. I also run a WhatsApp Group on Behavioral Science, where I make short posts 2 or 3 times a week. If you’d like to join in, message me your number and I’ll send you a link.
Reference Links:
Founder, Yuvsatta (youth for peace)
3 周Very constructive...keep inspiring for more. Best wishes always
Building CARS24 | Technology Leader | Innovation Advocate
3 周Very helpful
Growth Marketer
3 周Sandeep, this is a very useful article. There are some interesting points that I am taking from your artlice. And I am a big supporter of the Armed Forces. Keep writing and if you want we can collaborate on your next article.
Indo European Trade Consultant
1 个月Dear Sandeep? Thank you for sharing this wonderful perspective on the important lessons we can learn from the military establishment on better decision making. Very relevant in these times of decision fatigue and information overload. Thank you?
Business , Start-Up, Digital Marketing, Process Re-engineering, Operations Expert
1 个月Great advice