Special 5-Day Report

Decision Making in the Digital Age: A Decision-Enabling Culture

by Kepner-Tregoe

A study by Kepner-Tregoe identified seven preconditions for successful decision making based on interviews with key leaders. In the earlier article in this series, we identified the first two: value-drive decision making and ruthless prioritization. The third pre-condition is a Decision-Enabling Culture.

Culture is the pattern of norms, values, beliefs, and attitudes that influences individual and group behavior within an organization. Originating with the founders of the organization, culture is shaped and honed over time by succeeding senior executives and other stakeholders. Culture filters down through the organization and is further refined and modified in the day-to-day priorities and actions of everyone involved in the business.

As we move forward into the 21st century, one important question to consider is, "What key attributes within an organization's culture best support Digital-Age decision making?" In studying 12 Decision Leader organizations, we isolated three such attributes that distinguish these organizations:


Speed as a Corporate Virtue

While the pundits have been preaching the gospel of speed, Decision Leaders have been taking action. They have carefully reviewed their organization's structure, systems, processes, and people in an attempt to remove barriers to speed in decision making.

Sacred cows that get in the way must be kicked. Example: Corning is an organization where quality has always been next to godliness. Its formal authorization process requires no less than 13 levels of approval. But even Corning is now experiencing what Alan Eusden refers to as "the need for stunning speed and for fast, fast decision making on a daily basis." In response, says Mr. Eusden, these 13 levels are no longer sacrosanct: "On the rare occasions when we need to, we will cut the process down to three steps. We'll say, 'these three people are the key decision makers, so we'll get their authorization and keep the others informed.'"


A Passion for Information Sharing

If information is the prima materia of the Digital Age, then the willingness to share it, at all levels of an organization, is essential for success. Access is key, especially when speed is paramount.

At Applied Energy Systems (AES), there are no secrets, says CEO Dennis Bakke. "All information is shared by everybody. We could work on the most secret merger in the world and we would still share all the information about it with everyone in the company. I try to give all our employees access to everything that I have access to, because when people make decisions they need to know everything." And Bakke is not exaggerating: Every single person in the company has been declared an insider for stock-trading purposes! They can only trade during certain windows, just like the highest-level select few in most other companies.


A Willingness to Take Risks

Delegating decision making requires a leap of faith, which can disappoint even the most ardent true believer. Some companies are unwilling to take that leap and, as a result, decision making remains the province of a select few. Decision Leaders, on the other hand, recognize that the complexity of today's business environment and the speed at which results must be achieved demand that a greater number of people assume responsibility for decision making.

Make no mistake about it, too many bad decisions can sandbag an organization. But Decision Leaders are willing to risk a certain amount of failure, if the organization and the decision maker can learn from it and move ahead. Rather than punishing decisions makers for their mistakes, these companies assess what went wrong and why. Novell, Inc.'s Vice President for Education Debbie Maucieri puts it this way, "Organizations should encourage employees to take risks. If someone shows that they've taken a risk with some foundation, that they've gathered the relevant data and thought about the consequences, then forgiveness is granted. But if they've shot from the hip, then it's a problem."

The next article in the series will look at two more preconditions for successful decision making.

A complete copy of the Kepner-Tregoe report "Decision Making in the Digital Age" can be purchased for $395.00, plus shipping and handling, from the Kepner-Tregoe web site (www.kepner-tregoe.com). Or contact Dolly Weldon-Gordon at (609) 252-2665 or via e-mail at dweldon-gordon@kepner-tregoe.com. For more information about Kepner-Tregoe, contact Dr. Peter Tobia, via phone (609) 252-2634 or e-mail (ptobia@kepner-tregoe.com).