Impactful decisions

I’ve been talking about impact in a variety of ways, and have also posited that decisions are key. I really haven’t put them together, so perhaps it’s time ;). So here’re some thoughts on impactful decisions.

To start with, I’ve suggested that what will make a difference to orgs, going forward (particularly in this age of genAI), is the ability to make better decisions. That is, either ones we’re not making right now, or new ones we need to be able to make.  When we’re moving away from us doing knowledge tasks (e.g. remembering arbitrary bits of information), our value is going to be in pattern-matching and meaning-making. When faced with a customer’s problems, we’ll  need to match it to a solution. We need to look at a market, and discern new products and approaches. As new technologies emerge, we’ll have to discern the possibilities. What makes us special is the ability to apply frameworks or models to situations despite the varying contexts. That’s making decisions.

To do this, there are several steps. What are the situations and decisions that need to be made? We should automate rote decisions. So then we’ll be dealing with recognizing situations, determining models, using them to make predictions of consequences, and choose the right one. We need to figure out what those situations are, the barriers to success, and figuring out what can be in the world, and what needs to be in the head. Or, for that matter, what we can solve in another way!

We also need to determine how we’ll know when we’ve succeeded. That is, what’s the observable measure that says we’re doing it right. It frequently can be triggered by a gap in performance. It’s more than “our sales aren’t up to scratch”, but specifics: time to close? success rate? Similarly for errors, or customer service ratings, etc. It needs to be tangible and concrete.  Or it can be a new performance we need. However, we need some way to know what the level is now and what it should be, so we can work to address it.

I note that it may feel ephemeral: “we need more innovation”, or “we need greater collaboration”, or… Still, these can be broken down. Are people feeling safe? Are they sharing progress? Is constructive feedback being shared? Are they collaborating? There are metrics we can see around these components, and they may not be exhaustive, but they’re indicative.

Then, we need to design to develop those capabilities. We should be designing the complements to our brain, and then developing our learning interventions. Doing it right is important! That means using models (see above) and examples (models in context), and then appropriate practice, with all the nuances: context, challenge, spacing, variation, feedback…  So, first the analysis, then the design. Then…

The final component is evaluation. We first need to see if people are able to make these decisions appropriately, then whether they’re doing so, and whether that’s leading to the needed change. We need to be measuring to see if we’re getting things right after our intervention, it’s translating to the workplace, and leading to the necessary change.

When we put these together, in alignment, we get measurable improvement. That’s what we want, making impactful decisions. Don’t trust to chance, do it by design!