Zillion Dollar Thought

The human heart is about six inches long…
It beats about 70 times a minute…
4,200 times an hour…
100,800 times a day…
36,792, 000 times a year…
2,575,440,000 in 70 years…
Times billions of people since the beginning…

Zillions of beats.

The Case for Decision Strategists

Strategists by Category:

Political
Marketing/Brand
Management
Media
Psychological
Military
Others

Strategist: (def.) from: strat•e•gy noun \-jē\:
a variety of or instance of the use of strategy: a careful plan or method: a clever stratagem: the art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal: the science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological, and military forces of a nation or group of nations to afford the maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war (2): the science and art of military command exercised to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous conditions

Noun 1. various strategies:
- game plan; a carefully thought out strategy for achieving an objective in war, politics, business or personal affairs
- dodge, stratagem, contrivance; an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade
- a proactive strategy intended to prevent a counter strategy
- bubble strategy; a speculative scheme that depends on unstable factors that the planner cannot control; re: "a real estate bubble"
- playbook; a scheme or set of written and mapped strategies for conducting a business, political or personal campaign (large volume app)
- plot, secret plan, game; a secret scheme to do something (even something underhand or illegal)
- waiting game; a strategy of delay (example: Iran)
- incentive scheme; a formal scheme for inducing someone (as employees) to do something (can involve herd mentality)

The common thread of these strategic moves is that they are all specific and OBJECTIVE and not simply gut feelings, intuition or chance. Why? With military (for example), the cost of decision strategy generally involves the ultimate sacrifice of human life. When blood is shed, the volume of serious is at the max. When the consequences are at the highest levels, the answers must be right.

Question: When weighing the comparative value of an accurate, planned and actionable decision against simply throwing money and general resources at a problem…what wins every time?

Look around, BP- Record debt at every level - Congressional trust level - Divorce statistics…on and on…all decision based. Could there be a more important position than a “decision strategist?”

Paradigm shift: What if you were appointed to this job…would you get more objective than you are today? What if we simply appointed our self as a “decision strategist” right where we sit…any changes?

Political Strategy: A Decision Czar?

Honor, Courage and Commitment

Decisioning and the United States Navy

HONOR

The United States Navy follows three major words as core values to develop positive relationships with people, countries, and governments.

Honor, Courage and Commitment are the words sworn to. They are the seeds considered necessary to be successful toward a vital decision process in the management of human lives.

The word Honor is an absolute decision in itself. It is the decision with action to value others and ourselves with devotion. The United States Navy’s definition of Honor is, “I will bear true faith and allegiance.” Accordingly, we will: Conduct ourselves in the highest ethical manner in all relationships with peers, superiors and subordinates; Be honest and truthful in our dealings with each other, and with those outside the Navy.

The United States Navy has followed this ethical code of Honor by providing life changing and saving duties around the world.

COURAGE

With honor we build comradeship and with comradeship we build Courage. Courage is a “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” The United States Navy’s definition of Courage is, “I will support and defend." Accordingly, we will have: courage to meet the demands of our profession and the mission when it is hazardous, demanding, or otherwise difficult.”

The spirit of courage is strength and effort in teamwork. A senior’s ethical courage to make the right decision is only as courageous as those whom he or she employs to courageously follow that decision. Maneuverability and resourcefulness of courage, educates an enhanced understanding of different tasks that must be encountered. Understanding that other people, who are a part of your team, provide as much hard work to making decisions provides the courage to trust.

Trust allows a team to plan and look ahead and nurtures a relationship of trust among people affected by their actions, e.g. civilians and other governments.

COMMITMENT

The United States Navy’s definition of Commitment is "I will obey the orders." Further, we will: Demand respect up and down the chain of command; Care for the safety, professional, personal and spiritual well-being of our people." Commitment is the principle structure of moral value and fervent virtue. Commitment is a duty to declaration, others, and ourselves. It defines Honor and Courage.

We commit to Honor and Courage with responsibility to any task or plan regardless of the consequence. We understand that all decisions we make are commitments to saving or improving someone’s life.

Honor, Courage, and Commitment are not just core values, but a code of ethics the US Navy performs daily. These are the words of personal and political survival. The U.S. Navy's behaviors, through actions and conduct, are direct representations of themselves and the institution. And, they measure the performance that allows people to trust the organization and maintain the positive, long-term relationships it has endured since its inception.

References:
Cutler, T. (1999, March). The bluejacket’s manual: Blue Jacket Manual (22nd ed.). Naval Institute Press. United State Navy. (n.d.). The United States Navy, Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Core Values.

Available from:
http://www.navy.com/about/during/personaldevelopment/

For full article, author and credits:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Honor--Courage--and-Commitment-The-United-States-Navy

ZDT Author’s Note:
It would be hard to find a more inspiring or enduring set of values that act as the basis for leadership and decisioning.

Proud of our military.

Decision Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence
Competitive Intelligence
Market Intelligence
Political Intelligence
Business Intelligence

For one example, a brief definition of Business Intelligence:

“In its broadest sense, business intelligence is a wide range of applications and technologies which gather, store, analyze and provide access to information that will help decision makers make better business choices. Among others, BI applications include the activities of decision support systems, query and reporting, online analytical processing, statistical analysis, forecasting, and data mining.”

In all, we have made great strides with information intelligence combined with technology. Today, with a SmartPhone, it’s all at your finger tips 24/7. Point is, even with all the intelligence readily available, it seems that the ability and the product of making better and wiser decisions is still in stagnation.

Why can we say that? Consider these decisioning effects…

To name a few: BP Oil Spill (See post dated: 6-30-10), Congress (See all time low poll numbers), Corporate Headlines (Management decision debacles at all levels)…

Scrutinizing these current events, they are generally the product of some kind of a decision. So, from your perspective, are we better off…worse off…about the same?

Again, the purpose of this ZDT Blog is to create awareness of the constant and universal problem of decisioning, and hopefully, to offer more objective and effective solutions as a change agent. But, judging from the current climate and serious condition, we have our work cut out for us.

We definitely need your input and participation.

Decisioning Commitment Calculator: Scoring

From Previous Post:
Decisioning Commitment Calculator

Total Score Analysis:

Below 50 - “probably not ready to commit at this level”

Between 50 - 65 - “maybe something to pursue later (lukewarm)”

Between 65 - 80 - “highly probable to proceed”

Above 80 - “committed… ready for the next step”

After considering, it could well be that this is the key step that derails many decisions right into the round file called “I want to think about it.” In many decisions, the subject of commitment is never even considered, let alone evaluated. Please consider the step and importance of commitment as you move forward with any decisioning process.

Author’s Note:
These questionnaires are for illustrative purposes only—they are not a guarantee of any future results.

Decisioning Commitment Calculator

Questions for “Getting Unstuck”
In many decisioning situations, we get stuck at the elusive level of commitment. If your current decisioning formula does not include a commitment step, you may want to try this as a test remedy. Just think, if there is no real commitment in your decisioning process, how likely is it that the final decision will be acted on?

Calculator Scale 1-10 (Least Likely = 1  Most Likely = 10)

1. To what degree have I correctly identified the commitment needed in the opportunity to pursue, problem to be solved or challenge to overcome? (1-10)

2. To what degree have I ever committed in a similar decision before? (1-10)

3. To what degree do I trust myself to see this through to completion? (1-10)

4. To what degree will I have the ability to “stay in control” of this situation
(over the influence of other sources)? (1-10)

5. To what level do I have the (First Responders) “no matter what it takes
attitude” in this commitment? (1-10)

6. Do I have a record of “giving up” (1) or “hanging tough” (10)
in any similar or past situations?

7. If I commit, to what degree do I have the wisdom (and any counsel
in place) to abort this decision if “warning signs” dictate ? (1-10)

8. What level of “accountability” have I built into this decisioning
step? (1-10)

9. Are there any written statements surrounding this commitment process?
No (1) Yes (10)

10. To what degree is there any monitory or other loss to me as a consequence
of not following up on this commitment? (1-10)

Total Score: ____________

Please apply the total score to the calculator (tomorrow’s post). It may well give you an extra measure of objectivity that may have been missing. Worth a test?

Zillion Dollar Thought

Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark…and we thank him Zillions for that!

Laws for Making Good Decisions

(Continued from Last Post)

From Good Decision Makers
Author, Charles Foster, PhD
The Chestnut Hill Institute

Focus on the most important thing.
This seems obvious, but it is the decision-making principle that is most often violated. In every decision, one factor usually is the most important. Concentrate on that element, forgetting all other considerations. Once you’re focused only on what’s most important, the odds are you’ll make the right decision. Everything else is a detail.

Turn big decisions into a series of little decisions.
Some decisions appear overwhelming. You want to focus on what’s most important, but there are so many unknowns that your focus gets blurred. So, make all the little decisions first, and the big decision will essentially be made.

Base your decision on self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance covers a lot of ground…Here are three areas to include:
What you like.
What you’re interested in.
What you’re good at.

Any decision based on who you really are, how you really work, what you really like will probably work out. Ask yourself what you really like and what makes you comfortable. If the decision won’t add to your feeling of comfort, it probably would prove to be a bad decision.

Consider all the good things your decision can bring.
Decision making is, for many people, an exercise in disaster avoidance. Instead of making the decision that might cause something wonderful to happen, we often make the decision we hope will hurt us (and others) the least.

The decision making process must be fueled by the possibility that your decision will lead to something wonderful, a new career, a stronger marriage, etc. Keep reworking the decision until you see it leading to something wonderful. If you rework the decision and nothing wonderful emerges, you risk making the wrong decision.

Get what you need to make your decision a success.
Especially in business, this rule gets broken again and again. A meeting ends with the decision to do such-and-such, but no plans are made to implement the decision.

If there is no passion to implement the decision…or if you know in advance that the resources you need won’t be available…you haven’t decided anything. It is window dressing meant to satisfy someone’s ego or to be included in a report to show your department is on the ball. Start with how you’re going to implement your decision and work backward.

Keep things as simple as possible.
Even smart people break this law. Because they see the big picture, they want the decision to cover every issue that might arise. They draft plans so that no possibility is overlooked.

Example: The more things that can go wrong, the more things that probably will go wrong. Keep the number of things that must go right for the decision to succeed to an absolute minimum. Venture capitalists are justifiably wary of overly complicated plans for a new business. Business plans that are easy to grasp are the ones that are most likely to get funding.

Consider all your options.
I have never met a decision maker (good or bad) who had checked out all possible options. Invariably, I could come up with options they never considered.

Don’t assume you know everything there is to know to make a good decision. Talk to people who are more experienced about the subject than you are. Ask what they would consider when making the same decision. Not only will they present you with new options, their insights could completely change the way you think about the decision.


Full Article and Credits:
http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/article.html?article_id=27567

Laws for Making Good Decisions

From Good Decision Makers

Author, Charles Foster, PhD
The Chestnut Hill Institute

There are natural laws:

Law of Universe
Law of Gravity
Law of Relativity

There are man made laws:

Law of Averages
Law of Diminishing Returns
Law of Large Numbers

Basically, there are laws that govern in most every subject (civil laws, tax laws, probate laws, etc.). A law can read short or long. They help define parameters, limits and consequences of violation. They are to be abided by, and not broken purposely. They are designed to keep society in order. In all, that’s a heavy criteria for the subject of laws.

Q. Are there laws about making decisions?
A. Here is one submission by an author who looks credible:

“I have spent 10 years studying decision makers…identifying 35 people who

generally make good decisions and 35 people who frequently make

bad decisions... then watching over time as they make big decisions.

My research has led me to two conclusions...”

Good decisions come from disciplined thinking.

If you follow the basic laws of decision making, most of your plans will work out. Think haphazardly when you make a decision, and little of what you plan will pan out.

Good decisions are habit-forming.

Each time you make the right decision, you gain the necessary self-confidence to keep making good decisions. That’s why following the laws of decision making are essential.

So, here are Seven Laws for making great decisions:

[Continued in the Next Post]

Zillion Dollar Thinkers

A wake up call

From the book: Zillion Dollar Thinking the four leadership examples that were sighted were Gates [opportunity], Edison [commitment], Disney [solution], Churchill [action].

Let’s look closer at Walt Disney: Birth; December 5, 1901 – Death; December 15, 1966. To name a few of his achievements:

First animated film with synchronized sound
First animated film in full-color three-strip Technicolor
First feature length animated film
Multi-plane camera, invented for use on The Old Mill, 1937
First stereophonic sound system for film
First theme park (Disneyland, 1955)
Winner of twenty-six Academy Awards
Inaugural recipient of star on the Anaheim Walk of Stars
Two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Congressional Medal of Honor
Presidential Medal of Freedom

“What is remarkable about this special thinker is that making decisions

back then vs. today had a zillion obstacles and little technology.”

We reviewed an archived article comparing 1903 to today.
Consider these surprising facts:

-In 1903 the average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven (47) years
-Only 14 percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub
-Only 8% of our homes had a telephone [and a three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars]
-Only 8000 cars were on the road and the maximum limit of 10 mph
-Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee each had a greater population than California
-No Mother's Day or Father's Day
-One in ten US adults could not read or write
-Only 6% of all Americans graduated from high school
-No air conditioners

Ah, those were the times…and in addition:

No internet
No digital
No cells
No satellites
No PCs
No wireless

But now, we demand and receive instant answers in a digital world.

Point is, compared to what our predecessors had to work with, we really have little excuse for not having better and wiser decisions-plans-directions-results today. It could be that what is happening in our government-economy-environment-freedoms…is a blessing in disguise.

It could be a wake up call…a call to action.

In Disney’s era, the environment for making important decisions was much more difficult and challenging, but look at the achievements.

Today, with all our high tech advantages, we have the opportunity to act with revelation, motivation, innovation and creation at the speed of thought. Our challenge is not to repeat history, but to make history.

Decisioning as a Competitive Advantage

(Highlighted in the last post)

Companies and organizations make decisions daily. Insurance, cars, rent, perks, advertising, technology…and so on. But, in today’s economy, how many are making a conscious decision about decisioning?

As previously posted, we chronicled the BP fiasco right down to the essence of the problem…the lack of decisioning at most every level. In fact, if you will look back at many of our ZDT archived posts, you will find a definite trend. And, because it is so obvious; we have to wonder why it’s being avoided and repeated…almost on purpose.

The time has finally come (and hopefully not too late) for many companies to apply the word how to this often overlooked issue.

The “how,” when applied to objective decision making [decisioning], could completely refurbish worn out and status quo approaches in many of today’s challenges. The trend that we continue to see is not the understanding of the problem, or the ability to come up with some solutions, but the consistent lack of a model of how the process is established and adopted as a standard within the organization.

A key statement from the previous post:

Develop decision making as a core competency
“When you look at successful companies, they all share one common trait…they make good decisions. When you look at mediocre or failing companies, they all seem to have made bad decisions. Yet surprisingly few companies actively cultivate decision making as a skill set for their leaders and managers. When they have, the results have been extraordinary.”

“Improving decision making can even become a competitive advantage”

The steps of what a model might look like, as applied to decisioning, could be as follows:

Is it an opportunity (or problem) area for our company?
How deep is our commitment (or not) to achieve it?
What is the best possible solution (or solutions) in our situation?
What will our specific actions (and accountabilities) be?

Regardless of the particular model that is adopted, the key is to have one, and that it becomes revolutionary in your organization. So, if your competition continues to ignore the importance of a model in objective decisioning, you may have a legitimate competitive advantage. And, if the other companies neglect it long enough, they may no longer be anyone’s competition.

Good Decisions Are More Important Than Ever

“We have seen the collapse of some major corporate institutions

because of one common failing; they made bad decisions”

Consequently, they failed to understand the unconstrained risk associated with financial derivatives such as Collateralized Debt Obligations and Credit Default Swaps. They failed to consider the longer-term consequences of decisions that had short-term benefits. They failed to comprehend the risk of complex decisions and how decision risk can escalate. Some ignored making critical decisions, because they just never got around to addressing them. Some simply and blindly followed the decisions of others [herd mentality].

While we need to learn the underlying lessons from these decision failures, we also need new strategies for making business decisions so we don’t repeat the past in a different form. Good decisions have always been fundamental for business success, but now this is more important than ever. In today’s uncertain economy, it is nearly impossible to make confident assumptions about the future when making decisions. At the same time, there is less room and tolerance for bad decisions, compared to the previous decade when most bad decisions could be reversed, overcome or hidden with subsequent decisions.

“Today one bad decision can cause a major setback or even kill a company”

To compete successfully in today’s economy, companies need to adopt new strategies for making decisions. Here are a few examples:

Work harder on major decisions
While most executives usually intend to put sufficient work into their decisions, all too frequently they just don’t spend the necessary time. Today this is inexcusable.

“There is zero tolerance for poor decisions”

In the past for example, executives might spend 10-20 hours on an important decision, today they need to spend ten times that amount of time.

Understand decision risk
The recent economic collapse was caused largely by executives’ failure to understand the risk of major strategic decisions. Understanding decision risk takes effort and is not as exciting as visualizing benefits. We recently learned all too painfully about the consequences of failure to understand decision risk, and it is now irresponsible to say “I just didn’t consider that risk.” Decision risk is not easily understood; in fact, many executives have never learned techniques for sufficiently appraising the risk of their decisions.

Take decisions step by step or try them on for size
Many major decisions are best made by adopting a step-by-step approach rather than making a full commitment up front. Another technique that is increasingly important is to try a decision on for size before making it.

Develop decision making as a core competency
When you look at successful companies, they all share one common trait…they make good decisions. When you look at mediocre or failing companies, they all seem to have made bad decisions. Yet surprisingly few companies actively cultivate decision making as a skill set for their leaders and managers. When they have, such as the phase-based product development decisions mentioned above, the results have been extraordinary.

“Improving decision making can even become a competitive advantage”

Don’t hesitate to make bold move decisions
Being cautious in today’s uncertain economy does not mean decision paralysis. In fact, now may be the best time to consider bold move decisions. The shifting economy provides many new opportunities for courageous businesses to make bold move decisions. These just need to be objective and well thought through decisions.

Boards of Directors need to play a bigger role in major decisions
One of the biggest questions raised in the recent collapse of major institutions such as Lehman Brothers was:

“Where was the board of directors when these decisions were made?”

Directors should not be involved in micromanaging a business, but they should care about the incentives, diligence, and skills applied to major decisions, and they should use their experience and wisdom to review major strategic decisions before they are made.

In many ways, the abrupt decline of the economy and its dramatic impact on business should serve as a wake-up call for better decisions and more focus on decision making as a skill, if not we will face even greater disasters in the future. It’s not a call for more sophisticated decision making, but it’s a return to the basics of due diligence, common sense, and hard work.

Author, Michael E. McGrath is an experienced advisor to executives, former CEO, executive chairman of Thomas Group, and author of Business Decisions! – How to Be Decisive While Reducing Risk in Today’s Economy. Full article and credits:
http://www.halllc.com/2010/08/good-decisions-are-more-important-than-ever/

ZDT Author’s Comments:
This looks specifically written for corporate applications, but after careful review, many of these points apply to individual challenges. Very insightful and extremely timely.

Zillion Dollar Thought

We each have a zillion thoughts over our lifetimes. Considering all the people since the beginning…that’s Zillion Dollar Thinking!

Deciding for a Living

Back in 1998, Joey Reiman wrote the book Thinking for a Living. It’s all about how he transitioned from getting paid as an advertising agency to getting paid simply for thinking. Remarkable.

He goes further to state that he generates ideas as a product of thought, and gets paid a million dollars and more for such ideas. His big shift came when he realized that in order to be really creative; he needed the freedom from client restrictions, plans, deadlines, etc. to generate “ideation” [the thought process]. And, clients were willing to pay the price for Brighthouse to generate those valuable thoughts. Their mantra and headline is:

"Money doesn't create ideas. Ideas create money."

Having been in the ad and marketing business most of my life, I was intrigued with this concept and thought process. So, I’m thinking (my own ideation), what if we substituted the word “thinking” (from then) with the word “deciding” (today)?

If we really think about it, our decision process generally precedes our solution (bright idea) process. The reason I bring this up now is becoming more and more obvious. If corporations are willing to shell out millions for the next great idea…what price should they be willing to pay for an equally important and great decision?

Case in point; BP and the oil dilemma. We posted, early on, the documentation of where and when the story began to have cracks. And, what is clear is that the decisions being made at most every level were flawed, misinformed and carried little accountability. So, now look at the price tag for that fiasco…with no end in sight.

Here’s the deal. The decision process is increasingly a vital issue. It transcends the idea, the creative, the sales and about any other objective. Question: If BP had it to do all over again, would they have rather paid for a great commercial idea or for sound decisions that would have governed and directed their actions related to this (and other) oil rigs?

Please understand, we are not minimizing the value of commercial ideas (we live by them too). It is just that, increasingly, the failure rate of “decisioning” at the highest levels is becoming an international epidemic costing way more than what is being paid for ideation.

“Think about it...and you decide”

Decisioning Out of the Box

The decision before the decision

This is the one that was made before you even showed up. This is the one that sets the agenda, determines the goal and establishes the frame.

The decision before the decision is the box.

When you think outside the box, what you're actually doing is questioning the decision before the decision.

That decision is far more important and much more difficult to change than the decision you actually believe you're about to make.

Seth Godin

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/08/the-decision-before-the-decisio.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

ZDT Author’s Comments:
Posted with permission. This guy is good.

Blah, Blah, Blah or Blog, Blog, Blog?

(Our Zillion Dollar Thinking 100th Post)

“The experts say that a blog does not even start until it has

at least 100 posts…Now, we understand that wisdom.”

Since this is our 100th ZDT post, we thought we would do a little measuring to see if we stand the test with some of the experts who have blogged for years. Here’s a few of their comments and insights:

Blogging is all about other people. You don’t start a blog to talk to yourself. You start a blog for the dialogue. The real value of blogs is in the interaction between the readers and the blogger. The best insights come from the spontaneous conversations that build up around talking points.

You need to be productive when you “blog”. I don’t care how you define blogging, but it’s an activity that can add up to many hours in a day, so you have to monitor your time in order to be productive. You’ll spend your time looking for information, researching, commenting in other people’s blogs, and writing. It’s all time consuming, so make sure your time is well spent.

The same principles that apply to gaining success anywhere, apply to the world of blogging. Blogging isn’t a discipline that exists in isolation, and it’s not a wholely unique concept. Rather it’s an evolving medium that works like many other human endeavors. You’ll have winners and losers, laughs and tears, and everything in between. Be realistic and know that consistent hard work is the only thing that can help you.

Blogging is a marthon and not a sprint. If you’ve been blogging for a few years and feel fatigued, wondering if it will all pay off, keep in mind that there are people who’ve been blogging for 10 years or more! Tell them how you think you should have more success any earlier. And even if you have success at your blog for awhile, it’s not guaranteed it’ll last. Blogging is all about working for the long term.

“Whatever you do, don’t give up on making blogging

the very best profession or business you possibly can.”

As we look back in review and with just these few insights, I believe we have embraced a few, but in all, we have much work to do. So, here are some of the benchmarks we will strive intend to reach in the next few months:

We will invite, incent and create more traffic and more dialogue
We will get to the more practical applications of decisions in buying and selling
We will continue to stress the importance of using objective forms, structures and systems
We will be developing an e-book
We are developing a “Zillion Dollar Think Tank”

We have written many posts around the importance and crying need for objective decision making as a thinking habit. Moving forward, we will heavily emphasize actionable decision making as a privilege (not a guarantee) we too often take for granted.

A zillion thanks to our readers…on to 101.

Decisioning Comparison Criteria

(Please Consider Bookmarking)

When evaluating your current decision making position or system, you may consider comparing it to the following criteria:

Does it:
Provide and demonstrate a simple, tangible, objective and visual structure

Develop easily, is immediately understood and transferable at most ages (young or older)

Use a process that preempts the focus on products, services and issues
(by creating an early buy-in assessment tool)

Create a standard decision model with specifically linked steps to be followed

Have the "right of passage" that is based on interactive agreement and commitment at each step

Provide a logical tracking system that mimics the way that we naturally think and decide

Include an extra-dimensional assurance through “decision evaluation calculators”

Provide the mechanics to find where and if a breakdown in the decision process may occur

Become the standard/crucible where all your important decisions can be measured and analyzed

Generate qualification and/or buy-in early within the process

Flesh out the mantra of “The more it is used...the more it can be relied upon”

Offer the unparalleled legacy to sow and plant within a family...a sound decision making model

Solve the fundamental need ...the need to make more objective and reliable decisions

These are but a few of the analytical comparison traits of a classic decision making model. If you are now using a system that is working…by all means continue, but please share it. We would welcome any and all responses of successful systems. After all, the goal of this blog is to bring awareness and solutions to the gnawing problem of objective decision making.

Note:
The above criteria is the answer to the question: Why does the MODELTM System work (from the book Zillion Dollar Thinking)?