Reflections 2023 - Ch 2
Chapter 2
Season's greetings, my fellow comrades in the corporate world! Now is the time to pause, count our blessings, and prepare ourselves for what's in store.
In my moments of reflection, I realize that my cup truly runneth over. I'll be bringing in my new year moving houses in Mumbai, and I am truly preparing myself for what is to come. Not just a new house, but new opportunities and new decisions to make!
Making decisions in a timely manner is an important aspect in our work routines. Much rides on the outcome of those decisions, and we are judged (quite rightly) on their overall success rate. It’s impossible to eliminate risk from strategic decision making, of course.
I believe that it is possible for us and companies, to significantly improve chances of success by making one important acknowledgement: more decisions involve judgments that must be made with incomplete and uncertain information.
A variety of tools can be used for decisions made under uncertainty, but we have to admit, making decisions is more than just about tools.
Some of my experiences in 2023 have taught me more about decision making. I would like to reflect on questions I ask myself before making decisions. Please feel free to add in the comments section, to add to my learning.
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Do I know what it will take to succeed?
I ask myself if I have a causal model, that is, a strong understanding of what critical success factors, in what combination, will lead to a successful outcome. One simple test of the strength of a causal model is whether I can specify with confidence a set of “if-then” statements about the decision. I should also be able to mentally plug different assumptions clearly.
I ask myself; do I understand what combination of critical success factors will work? Do I know what metrics will define success?
Can I predict the range of possible outcomes?
We also need to know whether we can predict an outcome, or a range of outcomes, that could result from the decision. We can predict a single outcome with reasonable certainty when a company has made similar decisions earlier. But, while dealing with new situations & uncertainty, important to identify range of possible outcomes & predict probabilities so that a judgement call can also have a decision tree supporting it.
I ask myself; can I define the range of outcomes that could result, both in total and for each success factor? Can we gauge the probability of each outcome?
Can I have opinions from stakeholders, in an environment safe for them to speak up?
Under uncertainty, ensuring our stakeholders feel involved and they take ownership of the decision is very important, even if their conviction is varying. When we fail to inspire, the best decisions fail, and their impact can erode business value rather than having the intended effect.
I ask myself, who all can add to making our decision more robust with their perspective? How would they articulate the benefit from this decision?
HR Leader | OD and Talent Management | Change Management | Creating High performing Teams | HR Strategy | Author
11 个月Very well articulated. I keep asking myself if I can embrace failure with acceptance especially when a perfect plan fails and learn from it. and ofcourse, not to forget the resolve to build each other when people around forget their shine.
Regional Business Manager at GSK.
1 年Thanks Manvi Sushil for sharing. It's pivotal for us to keep developing our skills and analyse our strengths and areas of improvement so that we can use that knowledge to develop insights and create a robust action plan.
Empowering Teams Through Strategic Learning & Development | Commercial Excellence | Capability Building | Driving Growth with Authentic Leadership & Emotional Intelligence"
1 年Manvi Sushil thanks for sharing. It's important to take a pause ,in this hustle & bustle we are just running, 365 days 24*7 like a super machine, I do reflect on career progression, new learnings, hits & miss both on professional & personal front...... I strongly believe it has to be a holistic reflection involving coworkers, family & friends.
Associate Director People Services, India
1 年Thanks for sharing Manvi. It is very important that we take Reflections as important milestone in our professional and personal life. With a super busy calendar everyday, we hardly get time between two meetings. The only thing that differentiates human from machines are these “Reflections”. Let us reflect more and learn more.
Brand Manager, Adult Vaccines @GSK | MBA Gold Medalist | B.Pharm Gold Medalist
1 年Asking whether you have taken an inventory of your vulnerabilities while making a decision can certainly be helpful. While doing so, it's also important to know, if you want to express them in the process, as you seek inputs, it's perfectly okay.