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Business Mandate (July 2020) - Annual Edition
EffectiveDecision‐Making in Difficult Times
MMA and KonradAdenauerStiftung (KAS)'s online lecture on 15 April 2020 was delivered by Dr Manu K. Vora, Chairman and President, Business Excellence, Inc., USA and Fulbright Specialist, U.S.Department of State, USA (2016-2021).
"It is not enough just to make decisions. We need to diagnose the decisions..."
People make decisions all the time. The quality of those decisions is often in question —even by those who make them. Dr.Vora provided both background knowledge and practical models to prioritize and make decisions. He started with popular quotes on decision making. He quoted Lee Iacocca to drive home the fact that a decision taken must be ‘acted upon’ and that ‘decisiveness is what makes a good manager.’ He explained with examples and anecdotes, of decision making in personal and professional domains. He discussed decisionmaking themes dominant during Covid19—social isolation, personal hygiene, avoiding outside trips, seeking medical assistance, looking after the elderly and avoiding rumours.
He explained how in personal life, there are so many opportunities for decisionmaking, starting from schooling, taking up a job, buying an automobile, clothing, selecting a sport, going for vacation, shopping, financial investments and so on. Similarly, he listed numerous opportunities for decisionmaking in profession, in the areas of hiring, onboarding, training, giving initial assignment, performance feedback, coaching, mentoring, professional growth, promotions, terminations, capital projects, team formation and strategic planning.
Dr Vora thus laid out the vast canvas of decisionmaking and then detailed out various models as tools for arriving at decisions—like the tree diagram; Steven Covey’s UrgentImportant matrix; and basic decision models (scientific, ethical, economical, political, habitual, etc.,) He listed out nine steps to effective decisionmaking. How can we conquer indecision? “Failure to execute is the single greatest cause,” he stressed. “Beyond a point, plans are not relevant and they need to be implemented.” It is not enough just to make decisions. We need to diagnose the decisions that we made and distill them into good and bad decisions. The lessons learned will help us in future decisionmaking. Dr Vora gave many simple tips like taking one issue at a time, prioritizing and making use of 3H (Head, Heart and Hand) in decisions. The lecture provided useful insights for the participants to fulfill their vision, mission, and goals and empower them to do well in their professional careers.
