IT Management Slideshow: The Decision-Maker's Playbook

Why do so many ideas that seem so right at first go so wrong? It's not necessarily because they're bad ideas. It could be that the decision-making process at your organization is badly in need of a tune-up, according to the new book, "Decide & Deliver: 5 Steps to Breakthrough Performance in Your Organization"(Harvard Business Review Press/Sept. 27). Authors Marcia W. Blenko, Michael C. Mankins and Paul Rogers of Bain & Company Inc., a global management consulting firm, present a compelling case for CIOs and other top managers to come up with a systemic model for decision-making. The goals are to minimize risks and increase those factors that most often lead to success. For example, too often, organizations seek 100 percent agreement among a large number of decision-makers before launching implementation. That's a big mistake, the authors contend, as such efforts stall or compromise a great idea, and can lead to failure. By keeping only essential decision-makers/executors involved in the process, organizations can come up with a playbook for idea implementation that can be used over and over again. Here's more on how to do it.