Book: Decide

"DECIDE! The One Common Denominator of All Great Leaders"

Source: Excerpts from "EOS_Decide_eBook-1.pdf" by Gino Wickman

Overview: This book focuses on the critical importance of decision-making for entrepreneurial companies. The core argument is that the ability to make good decisions is the single most important trait of successful leaders and leadership teams. The book outlines four key discoveries about decision-making and a practical process (the Issues Solving Track) to improve decision-making effectiveness. It emphasizes clarity of vision, confidence, and a structured approach to addressing issues.

Key Themes and Ideas:

1. The Importance of Decision-Making:

• The author asserts that the inability to make decisions is the primary barrier to achieving a company's full potential. "The number one barrier holding most people back from achieving their companies’ full potential is their inability to make decisions."
• Decision-making is presented as the author's core value proposition to clients: "The only reason you have a problem is that you haven’t made a decision... I have helped them make decisions for almost two decades."
• Leaders often struggle with the fear of making bad decisions and taking too long to make decisions.

1. The Four Discoveries of Effective Decision-Making:

• Discovery #1: You must have clarity of vision. This involves answering five foundational questions:
• What are your core values? "Core values define who you are as a person and as an organization." Use them to hire, fire, review, reward and recognize.
• What is your Core Focus? "Where do you excel? What do you love doing? What are you great at doing? What are you passionate about? Why does your organization exist?"
• What is your 10-Year Target? Having a long-term target is critical for making decisions aligned with future growth. "If you have trouble thinking ahead, we’ve uncovered one of the key reasons you’re not making good decisions or taking far too long to make them."
• Who is your ideal customer, and what is the most appealing message to them? Don't try to be everything to everyone.
• What is your 3-Year Picture? "If you and everyone in your organization can clearly see the same picture in three years and everyone’s energy is going in that direction, you’ll eliminate 50% of the confusion, murkiness, delays, and bad decisions."
• Discovery #2: Good decision-making requires clarity and confidence. This is achieved through "Clarity Breaks" - regular, uninterrupted thinking time. "You have to step back and take a look at the big picture on a regular basis...Pausing on a regular basis allows you to block out all of the noise that’s clouding your judgment and creating murkiness. In this state, you’ll be able to not only think better but also listen to your gut." The book also mentions trusting your gut, referencing scientific support for the idea of a "second brain" in the enteric nervous system (ENS).
• Discovery #3: You must avoid 10 bad decision-making habits. These are presented as the "10 Commandments of Good Decision-Making":

1. Thou Shalt Not Rule by Consensus
2. Thou Shalt Not Be a Weenie
3. Thou Shalt Be Decisive
4. Thou Shalt Not Rely on Secondhand Information
5. Thou Shalt Fight for the Greater Good
6. Thou Shalt Not Try To Solve Them All
7. Thou Shalt Live with It, End It, or Change It
8. Thou Shalt Choose Short-Term Pain and Suffering
9. Thou Shalt Enter the Danger
10. Thou Shalt Take a Shot

• Discovery #4: Not all good decisions are made at the same speed. The book references the Kolbe Index, a profiling tool that measures problem-solving tendencies, particularly the need for information ("fact finder"). Recognizing different decision-making tempos is important. "If I were to chart the amount of time it takes my 10 best decision-making teams to make decisions, the slowest team would literally take four times as long as the fastest. And that’s not all bad. Keep in mind they’re both making good decisions." The "70% solution" used by the Marine Corps is mentioned as a technique for high fact finder teams, meaning they should move forward when they have 70% of the information and feel 70% confident.

1. The Issues Solving Track (IDS): A Practical Process for Decision-Making

• The process is broken into two parts: Creating an Issues List, and utilizing the Issues Solving Track.
• The process is designed to help teams dig to the root of issues, discuss solutions, and then decide. "It’s less important what you decide than it is that you decide. More is lost by indecision than by wrong decisions."
• Issues List: This involves creating a system for identifying and organizing issues. There should be three lists:

1. Long-Term Issues List (beyond 90 days)
2. Weekly Leadership Team Issues List
3. Departmental Issues List

• Issues Solving Track (IDS): A three-step process for resolving issues.

1. Identify: Clearly define the real issue, going beyond the surface-level symptoms. "Most of the time, the stated problem is a symptom of the real issue, so you must find the root of the matter."
2. Discuss: Have an open discussion of the issue, with everyone contributing their thoughts (but only once). "Everyone should say what he or she believes but say it only once, because more than once is politicking." Stay on topic and avoid "tangents."
3. Solve: Reach a conclusion and create an action item for someone to implement the solution. "The solution step is a conclusion or solution that usually becomes an action item for someone to do. The item ends up on the To-do list, and when the action item is completed, the issue goes away forever."
4. The Six Key Components of Your Business:

• The book briefly mentions that effective issue-solving is one of six key components of a successful business. The other five are: Vision, People, Data, Process, and Traction.

Target Audience: The book is primarily targeted at entrepreneurial companies with 10-250 employees, but the author suggests the principles can be applied to other organizations and even individuals.

Overall Message: The key takeaway is that decision-making is a skill that can be improved through clarity of vision, confidence, and a structured process. By implementing the principles and tools outlined in the book, leaders can overcome their decision-making challenges and drive their companies to success.

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