Making Strategic Decisions

According to by Michael C. Mankins, in a Harvard Business Review article, most leadership teams spend just three hours per month making strategic decisions. Worse, many teams fritter away precious hours on unfocused, inconclusive discussion rather than rapid, well-informed decision making. This results in delayed decisions that lead to wasted resources, missed opportunities, and poor long-term investments.

How can your leadership team avoid such pitfalls?
· Spend your limited time on issues exerting the greatest impact on your company's long-term value. Have separate meetings for strategy initiatives vs. day to day tactical issues
· Put real choices on the table, evaluating at least three viable options for every strategy. This gives you choices and encourages better options rather than simply going with the easier obvious ones.
· Use meeting time for decision making--not just discussion. Give people information before the meeting so they will be prepared to make a decision at the meeting. Then commit the resources (time, talent, and money) required to execute the strategy.

Your reward? Strategic decisions--made better and faster.

(From Strategic Thinking workshop – Dr. Mimi Hull)