My Decision-Making Process
Golden Rules:
1. Be Bold.
2. Have a Win-Win mindset. Start the process of deserving by accepting small amounts of
payment in the beginning.
3. Be proactive, but also patient.
4. Begin with the end in mind.
5. Seek first to understand then be understood. Give yourself permission to ask questions.
6. Have an infinite mindset; Reframe failures/challenges as invitations to take the next step.
7. Elevate your thinking – the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same
level of thinking we were at when we created them.
8. Find the investment time return;
Decision-Making Process:
A leader must discard the notion that they have all the answers and focus on shaping and
directing an effective decision-making process that marshals the collective intellect of those
around them. Focus on asking the right questions to the right people.
1. Investigation - Investigating the situation
Activate your analytical mindset and process the issue. Look for patterns and seek expert
advice.
1. Write down the problem statement.
■ Be careful of how you frame the issue as that is how it will be perceived by
others.
2. Define the Impact.
■ Potential Loss: Will this become problematic?
■ Potential Gain: Is this an opportunity? Requires a strategic plan.
3. Determine the urgency.
4. Determine the cause(s) of the issue.
■ Leverage “Five Questions to Ask to Identify the Real Issue” to help here.
Note: If you are approached for a task, gather what you can, then take it back and identify the
questions to ask. Then follow up before acting. Do not let your intuition lead you astray. (ex.
Lum Apps experience)
Note: To understand a problem you must immerse yourself in the situation. Framing can be
effective here. Get opposing frames to compare.
2. Determine Who the Stakeholders Are:
1. You are a stakeholder. Understand your role in the situation.
○ messenger, facilitator, SME, contributor, driver, etc
2. Determine who the other stakeholders are.
○ Who has:
1. Influential Power on the situation
a. Positive:
b. Negative: Parties not interested that could block your business
model.
2. Interest in the situation.
3. Who can help solve the problem?
a. Is the problem structure simple and straightforward as to what
needs to be done? Solution is usually just managing with
expertise (SME).
b. Is the problem ambiguous? These unclear situations are the
moment of truth. How you lead in a networking world matters
most.
○ Types of Stakeholders:
■ Networks
■ Organizations
■ Teams
■ Person
■ Government institution
Talking to stakeholders always comes at a cost of time or money. So you have to make a
conscious choice about what you gain from doing so before engaging with them.
3. Defining Goals and Criteria:
● Communicating is the biggest obstacle. In this stage you must put on your
‘Influencing Mindset’. You will have conversations with multiple worlds and how you
communicate to that world will have to be different.
● Find the main goal and criteria of the stakeholders. Ask the right questions that are
going to truly help you understand at an empathic level and help people realize the
issue is real.
1. What does the stakeholder want?
■ Needs to be explicit
2. Why do they want that?
■ Driven by values. Hard to understand, but powerful.
■ Implicit – Something that is understood, but not described clearly or
directly. Often leads to assumption
3. What are the criteria for their why?
■ This will unlock solutions and decisions.
■ Needs to be explicit
Note: Outcome of this process is not to pick a solution. It is to identify criteria so you can define
multiple solutions and compare them. Keep in mind:
● Goals and criteria are not a solution. If a stakeholder answers you back with a solution
you can ask “Why do you want that solution.” They will answer with criteria.
4. Execution: 4 Disciplines of Execution
Once you determine goals and criteria it is time to strategize and execute. The two best friends
of execution are simplicity and transparency.
● Discipline 1: Focus on the Wildly Important Goals
○ A WIG is a tactical goal with a limited time frame.
○ From X to Y by when?
● Discipline 2: Act on Lead Measures
○ A good lead metric is predictive of achieving the goal, and it can be influenced by
team members.
○ These are weekly/daily actions.
○ They are the measures of the most impactful actions that will achieve the WIG.
○ If your lead measure is not making progress on the WIG then change it.
● Discipline 3: Keep a compelling scoreboard.
○ I should be able to clearly see my Lag and Lead measures.
○ I should be able to understand if I am winning or losing within 5 seconds.
● Discipline 4: Create a cadence of accountability.
○ A weekly meeting with the sole purpose to refocus you and your team on the WIG
despite the daily whirlwind.
○ Establish trust between team members.
Advice to self: Make sure your Yes is bigger than others No. When you can present your own
ideas clearly, specifically, visually and contextually – you significantly increase the credibility
of your ideas.
Five Questions to Ask to Identify the Real Issue
1. Do I know what the real issue is, or am I looking at a symptom?
2. Does the team have the data regarding the real issue? Do we understand the data
modeling?
3. Is the issue real, or is it an assumption or someone else’s opinion?
4. Is there a tangible issue, or is it simply a hurt ego? - People want fairness
5. Am I thinking emotionally or logically?
Five Reasons to Implement Systems
1. What is measured can be scaled and improved.
2. You will know where and to whom to direct your energy and expertise.
3. You can stop micromanaging and empower your employees and team members.
4. Your employees, especially your top performers won’t be able to deceive you with hype.
5. You will simultaneously become more effective and have more freedom.
Why we are the way we are?
Behavior = f (P X Sf)
Behavior is a function of Personality and Surrounding factors
Behavior is that which we can observe
Personality is what we try to figure out
Surrounding factors are things that we have influence on
Business Model Implementation
Business Model - Describes the logic of the company; how it creates and captures value. The
strategic positioning on the long-term is typically part of the strategy. The daily operations are
typically part of how the business model is implemented.
