The Art and Science of Operational Management

In my role as an Operations Manager, I make hundreds of operational decisions every week. Some of these decisions are small, low-impact tactical decisions and others are more strategic in focus, with larger business objectives at stake. Regardless of the impact or focus, sound operational decision making is both an art and a science.

“You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” – When making operational decisions, the left-side of our brain knows this principle and looks at ‘the parts’ of a decision. Those parts are the logical and fact-based inputs behind good decision making and they are the foundation for understanding the health and direction of a company. Good data is critical to good operational decision making, both tactical and strategic. By contrast, bad data leads to inherently bad decisions. So how do you ensure you’re getting good data? Good data is found through well implemented tools and mature processes… the heart of operational effectiveness.

However, left-side thinking is only part of being a successful operational decision maker. You cannot make good decisions without exercising the right-side of the brain as well. The part of our brain that looks at ‘the whole’, the bigger picture. It is the creative and intuitive side of operational decision making and it is equally important as the left-side. Art-based thinking is focused in part on the nature of people and the need for contribution and confirmation… the soul of operational effectiveness.

I realize there are going to be purists out there who will say that heavily weighted, fact-based decision making is the only real way to effectively manage an operation. Let’s face it, we all know folks like this. It's not that they cannot be effective in their role, but I would propose that they are missing the opportunity to become an even better operational manager.

In the real world, this might mean knowing the payment terms and conditions of an agreement during a contract dispute while having the intuition to give the client a ‘win’ as a concession to overcome the issue. This is art and science working together for a successful outcome.

The most effective operational managers make decisions based on art and science. With the left-side of their brain they study the parts (the tactical) of a decision while focusing the right-side of the brain on the whole (the strategic). They implement tools and processes that promote accurate and timely data while encouraging and mentoring the people that use those tools and processes.

I’m no Van Gogh and I’m certainly no Einstein, but I know good operational decision making is both an art and a science as sure as gravity effects the starry, starry night.