decision

Are You in Mental Fight or Flight?

Have you ever made a dumb management decision? One that seemed like a good idea at the time, but after it fell flat you looked back and wondered, “What was I thinking?” We all do this from time to time. But you may be surprised to learn that one cause of this particular human trait is…

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Slow Down Your Strategic Planning So You Can Go Fast

Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.” In the business world, this definition also applies to concepts and ideas. As business leaders we like to think we’re impartial, open-minded and objective in regards to new ideas,…

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Avoiding the Dreaded Decision Fatigue

Have you ever made an important business decision late in the day, only to look back on it a day or two later and wonder, “What was I thinking?” It turns out the problem may not have been so much what you were thinking as when. A recent New York Times article, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=willpower&st=cse, relates the…

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How to Stop the Dreaded “Decision Drift”

Have you ever had a meeting that didn’t work out quite as planned? Where everyone agreed to a specific course of action and two weeks later you discover that what they’ve been working on doesn’t come close to your vision of what should happen? When these situations arise, we usually blame poor communication. We didn’t…

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How to Build Trust Through Better Listening

I ran across a quote the other day that resonated with me: The organization of today will require leadership that can operate on the edge of chaos by relinquishing command and control and creating an environment of mutual trust and respect. Two things struck me about this quote. One, just how much today’s leadership model…

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Who are the Pundits in Your Company?

I recently came across a very interesting book that provides convincing evidence that we’re all more human than we think, including the experts we turn to for political and economic advice. Expert Political Judgment, by Philip Tetlock, a psychologist who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, presents findings from a nearly 20-year project in…

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Stop Jumping to Solutions!

Okay readers, it’s time to test your business IQ. Which word does not belong in this group? Radar Kayak Raven Repaper If you answered “kayak,” you’re right! It’s the only word that doesn’t start with the letter R. But wait. If you answered “raven,” you’re also correct because it’s the only word that isn’t a…

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