How can you create a decision-making framework that ensures consistency?

Defining the problem or opportunity is the first step in the decision-making process. It is important to clearly define the problem or opportunity that you are facing before you can start to develop and evaluate solutions. To define the problem or opportunity, ask yourself the following questions: 🙋♂️What is the current situation? 🙋🏻 What is the desired outcome? 🙋♂️What are the gaps between the current situation and the desired outcome? 🙋🏻 What are the root causes of the gaps? 🙋♂️What are the opportunities to improve the situation?

A big part of defining the problem is to gain clarity on what there is to decide (and WHETHER there is a decision to be made in the first place). All too often people think they have to make a decision, or worry about a decision that is not their to make, because it is outside of their control. Once you narrowed down what the decision is, and what the options are, it is much easier to move forward

To create a decision-making framework that ensures consistency, you can follow these steps: 1. Define the purpose and scope of your framework. 2. Identify the relevant factors and criteria that influence your decisions. 3. Assign weights and priorities to the factors and criteria. 4. Evaluate and select the best option based on the factors, criteria, weights, and priorities. 5. Communicate and implement your decision.

A consistent decision-making framework should be structured, objective, and adaptable to different situations. for example: Define the decision-making context, Establish clear decision criteria, Gather and analyze relevant information, Generate and evaluate potential solutions, Document the decision-making process. By that, you can establish a decision-making framework that promotes consistency, objectivity, and adaptability, ensuring that decisions are made in a well-informed and structured manner.

At times you need to disassociate yourself to the decision-making you about to make or have made, review at a distance and measure what would have been your review and comfort of the final decision made.

One could consider applying available standard frameworks that help ensure that the problem has been looked at from different perspectives. E.g., "Six Thinking Hats" technique, that allows to cover factual, emotional, critical, positive, creative and control aspects related to a problem statement/ corresponding solutions. At times, involving a diverse set of colleagues to brainstorm can help uncover a range of options as well.

As you generate possible solutions, layer in your values—organizational values or personal values, depending on the issue. Unless the organization is values-driven and these are top of mind under pressure, we can move so quickly that we skip this filter. It's easier than one might think to solve one problem and create a bigger one. These missteps often erode brand value. An extreme example is solving an urgent supply chain issue with a new supplier to get production moving without taking the time to assess their labour or environmental record does not align with your commitments.

The most important at this stage is: - To be broad and creative enough. Therefore, choose carefully the people to involve to support enough divergent thinking. It is also important to ensure that implicit givens do not limit the exploration of alternatives - Not to shut-down any alternatives at this stage. Solutions departing a lot from the reference case can appear as complex and are usually, initially, very “non-optimised”. If you really want to have a chance of making it work, you need to ensure to think through such alternatives a minimum

The old adage from decision analysis is to ensure that you have specified your options exhaustively, and ensured that they are mutually exclusive

Two things I always believe 1. There is always a solution any problem 2. Once you identify the solution, there are always multiple ways to achieve that solution. The first option we realize is usually the easiest option but not necessarily the best option. So it is very important that we generate alternative options to achieve the solution.

Social audits are innovative tools that is particatory and qualitative and quantitative in approach. Well designed social audits can be powerful inclusive tools.

Several decision support tools can help make a technical decision when evaluating alternatives. It can be more beneficial if the decision involves legal aspects. The most popular DSTs are Decision Matrix, SWOT analysis, Cost-Benefit (CBA), Decision Trees and Paretto.

The criteria definition is critical. It should be made early (ideally at the framing session, before exploring alternatives) and needs to be aligned with the decision-makers One point that is often overlooked is how to take into account uncertainty in the evaluation. Some alternatives might be slightly worse in the current context but could prove to mitigate significantly some key risks and opportunities, be it at a the project or macro level (e.g. evolution of the market, technology, regulatory, societal environment…).

This is where the data driven decision making comes into play. How do you evaluate the options yoou have for a problem. One way is "gut feel" which might work but there is no science behind the answer. "Based on previous experience" is one other parameter that we can use, but how sound is it? That's where you need proper analysis of data. Many mechanisms can be used but it's essential to realize what your requirements are?

Explaining clearly the requirements, constraints and trade-offs is very important while welcoming the diverse perspective. One should also work to manage expectations and work together.

To create a consistent decision-making framework, first define clear objectives and core values. Establish specific criteria for evaluating options and assign weights to these criteria. Finally, consistently apply this structured approach, document decisions, and periodically review and adapt the framework to align with evolving goals and values.

An example I have seen is public hearings where the decision makers and implementors are before the recipients- citizens to listen to their experience. Adjustments can be made to incorporate stakeholders views and fortify ownership.

Once the options are analyzed, it's about picking the best option. Best option is usually case by case based and the options needs to be evaluated in relation to your problem. The same problem in 2 different contexts will have 2 different answers. A simple example I use is the need for a car to go from A to B. The route you choose on a sunny day might not be the best route for a rainy day, now that the context is different.

In order to ensure decision picked is going to be successful and the people involved are not hurt because their suggestions were not included, we have to ensure that we explain the why behind it.

As you might know, the best alternative is not always the perfect one. Do not be picky about the result, just remember to consider the real situation based on financial status, time and safety.

Communication is key and early engagement is vital to ensure implementation is successful. It is also important to keep an open mind and be flexible to adapt to feedback. This does not mean one has to consider every single feedback that comes but what it means is to keep the open decision making framework agile to adapt to external changing requirements and that which aligns with the organization strategy.

To ensure successful implementation it is important to develop an implementation plan and all relevant documents and communication before hand and all pertinent information disseminated as necessary. All implementations should be monitored to ensure success.

Flexibilidade é a chave para o sucesso de qualquer tomada de decisão. O mundo muda, as tendências mudam, por isso devemos constantemente como dito anteriormente mensurar, identificar oportunidades, definir estratégias de solução para aplicar as ações que impactarão o negócio.

As a matter of fact, readiness to execute the decision shall already be considered when selecting the best alternative rather than as a follow-up step. It might be the best decision on paper but if we do not have the resources, support or time to implement it, then it is worth nothing

if you do not conduct data analysis in this step, it is like you have abandon the problem after it seemed to be solved. in some cases, the solution may not be valid in a period of time. So, you need to keep track of it.

Tips for creating effective decision-making that ensures consistency: 1. Data-driven approach: Use data to reduce bias and ensure evidence-based decisions. 2. Transparency and accountability: Communicate your process, fostering trust and confidence. 3. Flexibility and adaptability: Adjust your approach as needed. Frameworks for decision-making: ~ Cost-benefit analysis: Compares costs and benefits of different options. ~ Risk assessment: Identifies and assesses risks for each option. ~ Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA): Considers various criteria, e.g., cost, risk, and performance, for evaluation.

For decisions that are significant and will demand a considerable amount of my energy over an extended period, I lean on the "5 Whys" technique. This method involves drilling down into a problem by asking "Why?" five times, which helps uncover the root cause and ensures that I'm addressing the core issue, not just the symptoms. On the flip side, for decisions that are less critical and easily reversible, I prefer a more agile approach. I quickly weigh the pros and cons and choose a path that feels right. If a decision can be undone or adjusted without significant consequences, it's often better to make a swift call and adjust as necessary.

Before starting the decision making process it is critical that we decide how we will decide. Otherwise called the ‘meta decision’. Questions such as: 1. What is the crux of the decision? 2. What is the scope of the decision? 3. Who owns the decision? 4. How long do we have to make the decision? 5. What information do we need to challenge our perspectives and identity options? 6. Who needs to be part of the decision process? 7. What process will we follow? 8. Which parts of the process do we need to spend most time and energy on? 9. What can we learn from previous decisions like this? 10. Who needs to be informed?

The proposed framework is actually quite similar to what decision quality proposes, aiming at maximising what we get out of each decision, taking into account the uncertainty and complexity of the real world as well as the fact that budget is obviously finished Beyond, the implementation of such framework shall also come with: - a clear support from Sr management, who need to ask for all of the above (and in particular being presented with creative viable alternatives) - a training plan for key people - an assurance process (potentially just training the existing peers and reviewers) - guidelines on key tools, in particular the framing session

To make sure you're making consistent decisions, first, figure out what really matters to your company, like its values and goals. Then, come up with clear rules and guides that fit those values. When it's time to decide something, get input from the people it affects, and look at it from different angles. Write down why you made the choice, so everyone knows what's up. Keep checking and improving your decision system as things change. By sticking to these ideas and steps, you'll build a solid way to make choices that keep things steady in your organization.