Decision Making Is the Start

Appreciated this useful personal framework from Dr. David Weiss aboutdecision making that was shared with me on LinkedIn.

I would add another dimension playing off the bottom link ("Will I do it?") and that is the plan for implementation. This step goes beyond good intentions. After all the results (not to mention most of the investments, resources, etc) of a decision happen AFTER the decision is made. This is especially true in organizations where whole teams are mobilized against strategy.

You can read more about this in my book Well Made Decisions.

Take What’s Yours: What Baseball Teaches Us About Entering Adjacent Markets

Over the past few years, I have been seeing up close the intersection of athletics and business in my role as the CMO of LEARFIELD. I believe sports have many lessons to teach us about decision making that can be applied beyond the field of play.  This blog series compares game day decisions and those faced by business leaders providing some insights from the greatest minds in sports that can improve your business.

Baseball is a game that is highly instrumented. Everything is measured and tracked. This makes it a great source for data-driven leadership lessons. The game also has a rich tradition and lots of rules that change every season. In September, the MLB has changed the size of official bases which some speculate will make it easier for runners to steal bases. You can see the comparison of the old and new bases in the background of the graphic above.

A base is “stolen” when a runner advances to a base to which “they are not entitled” (seems a little judgy, Wikipedia) and they are deemed safe at the next base.  It apparently first happened in either 1863 or 1865 with Ned Cuthbert playing for the Philadelphia Keystones. 

Even if that is true, they will have some big records to beat! There is a now-retired MLB player, Rickey Henderson, who racked up an incredible 1,406 stolen bases in his career.  In the 1887 season, Hugh Nicol racked up 138 stolen bases in a single season for the Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA), although it is speculated that not all of Hugh’s would meet the “modern” rules. Modern rules established (gulp!) in 1898.

Stealing bases holds some interesting lessons for business leaders interested in entering adjacent markets.  If a business is well-established in a category or with a particular customer set, what can that company do to take its current product to new markets or to serve their current customers in new ways?

1. Know the Score: It is critical that players on the field know score, the inning, the out count, and the position of all the players on base and those on the hitting roster. Otherwise, they will not do the right thing. The same is true in business. Before considering any impactful decision, one must understand the current situation clearly, including the businesses' ability and appetite to invest.

2. Managing Risk-Reward: Not all stolen bases attempted are successful. There is certainly risk associated with business expansion which should be explored. In my book, Well Made Decisions, I write about the importance of customer obsession and the practice of writing out strategy to mitigate risk. One useful practice is to do a pre-mortem to identify the potential derailers to your plan, before you implement. This is what baseball coaches and players do when they are making real-time decisions on the field. Before they take their foot off the base, they are calculating probabilities. Analysis of adjacent markets often use the 2x2 matrix I illustrated with bases above. You can choose to take existing products to new customers. Or you can choose to bring new offerings to your existing markets. The further away you get from your current customers or markets or your current products or technologies, the more risk. Talking candidly about those risks and mitigating them can be the key to getting the buy-in and cooperation the business will need.

The CMO Podcast

It was my pleasure to send time with Jim Stengel on The CMO Podcast. We talked about about career journeys, how to make great decisions, and about college sports marketing. Check out the episode on Apple iTunes or Spotify.

How to Make a Good Decision

I get asked the following regularly, especially since I started writing my book:

How do I make good decisions?

The answer to this question might surprise you. According to research and my own experience, the judgmental labels of “good” and “bad” can only be attributed AFTER a decision is implemented and results are achieved. You have no way of knowing with 100% confidence the outcome, especially of a high-stakes or complex decision, before you implement.

So, does that mean you can be impulsive or flip a coin because decisions don’t matter?

No. You should make decisions informed by as much insight, data, and expertise that the timeline and scope of the decision justify (which might be less than you think). Perhaps more importantly however the focus should be on what will it take to make this decision right, rather than in making the right decision. The results happen after the decision and the better you and your team or organization can be at anticipating that, the better.

My book, Well Made Decisions, which will be published later this month by New Degree Press, is packed with pro tips to help you think about decision making, problem solving, organizational culture, and strategy development and execution in a new frame. 

• Learn how Netflix and Schoolhouse Electric and Supply Company build talent density

• Learn how Square and AWS obsess about customers

• Learn how Amazon’s writing culture helps drive high-velocity innovation

• Learn how Ann Sack’s commitment to experimentation created a global brand

I look forward to sharing these insights and many more and engaging with you on how they are working in your business or team!

To learn more about the coming book and to subscribe to hear more about the launch, visit WellMadeDecisions.com. It was originally published on LinkedIn.

Well Made Decisions: the book trailer

My publisher, New Degree Press, has prepared this video all about the new book, Well Made Decisions. You can find more details on the pre-sales effort here. Only 15 days left to snag your signed copy and other perks! Thank you for your support!

Well Made Decisions

I have started working on a book about well made decisions. And every book deserves a website and a blog, which you can find at www.wellmadedecisions.com. You know I am deeply curious about leadership, communication, strategy, and innovation and all the other building blocks and contexts in which decisions occur. I look forward to sharing insights with you on my other blog and will cross-populate ideas when I think they are relevant more broadly.