Dilemma of a decision maker

There are no cookie-cutter answers when posed to top leaders who have accomplished the position they today are, most of the success stories are told after they have reached the peak … there is no one leader I have met so far in the last four decades right from my early days of infancy who can predict the outcome of an action to the path of success…

Nonetheless… one thing common I have noticed reading the autobiography of most admired leaders across the world is they knew when to move out … they knew where to stop… they knew when to say no… similar to a good leader is a gambler who knows when to get out of the table when he is on a winning streak…

This is an anecdote I remember right from my early college days… which our professor echoed time and again and emphasised on when exactly one should get out of a situation good or bad…

Human Beings and frogs are the two creatures in nature carrying tremendous power to adapt… Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water...as the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly...

The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature... Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore and at that point the frog decides to jump out...

The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it lost all its strength in adjusting with the water temperature... Very soon the frog dies.

What killed the frog ?

Many of us would say the boiling water... and the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out... we all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to decide it’s time to when to jump...

The decision making process tends to generate dogmatism … Leaders with superiority often overpower their peer group and the very charisma they carry coupled with biases in making decision and overlooking the facts either delays the decisions or end up making wrong decisions and pay the price for it… fall back and read the history they are filled with consequences bared  and suffered because of delayed decisions… the history of mankind is filled with many examples where monarchs and top leaders have delayed decisions which are catastrophic.

Just like the most fertile soil does not necessarily produce the most abundant harvest the most experienced need not be the best decision makers … the problem is they often delay the decisions especially in the corporate world that I am exposed to have seen the best of the leaders in the top management sitting on matters long enough that the time flies and the opportunity lost… and then the blame game and downstream corrective actions start… the question is why did you sleep over the matter so long without making any decision…

If I fall back and look at the leaders I have worked with in the corporate world between 1999 and 2014… one very common observation is the leadership values seemed to apply in good times when the economy was blooming and the world was optimistic on India reporting a double digit GDP, but all these values seem to dwindle or even disappear during stress post Lehman issue…

I have seen the best of the leaders under stress loosing long term focus and the temporary problem overpowers the senses and the very human nature filled with interference and insecurities takes over… no matter how resilient one is the environment acts such that the leader is unable to give up or move on and goes on taking decisions thru his gut and not the facts supporting which often blow the problem out of proportion.

Another very common issues one ends up adding cycle time to the decision making process is lack of communication, what I have seen in a decade long experience is people tend to communicate less during bad times, when in actuality, they need to communicate even more…, this fallacy leads to grapevine and gossips tend to picture themselves as facts making the employees take decisions which otherwise with sound communication and clarity wouldn’t have…. I have seen fear and greed dominating the human behavior forcing one in a see-saw journey of decision making…

Wait for something good to happen, a very funny things but yes, that’s true… many organizations wait for an economic and business turnaround and wait for quite long a time to make decisions which should be actually other way round… as a leader one should be making sound decisions during bad times so that the opportunity can be grabbed by both hands during good times…

Decision making is one of the remarkable qualities what leaders are identified possessing that sets them apart from others, the decision made may be bad or good… what is more important is to make one…. delaying making decision will attract an end to the person similar to the frog in the boiling vessel

Beyond the bottom line …

I am hired as an expert in a consulting assignment to work with the business manager and help him improve his EBITDA and impact the bottom line.

While I start my data analysis and quickly identify key improvement themes that will help improve the operational efficiency, build strategies where the value enabling tasks can be digitized and move some of the processes  to low cost channels and effectively use the power of outsourcing and impact the margins there is much more one should do.

My conversation with a Sr. Vice President brought in a 360 degree transformation to the whole art and science of operational excellence. No doubt that the cost optimization drives, business efficiency projects and process excellence are the keys which all business houses have successfully deployed and tasted the results there are a hand full of organization which go beyond these initiatives and move towards employee ENGAGEMENT…. EMPOWERMENT … and EXECTUION …

During my HP days I had a chance to work with the best of the CXO’s and Directors, each one is a gem in the crown of the Sr. Management who was on a path less travelled to meet the goals set and demonstrated unclenching behavioural anchors and maintained composure during the most stressful days and the only and only point each one of them articulated clearly and echoed in every talk is a threefold model of Engagement… Empowerment… and Execution.

One of the directors of HP who did play a role of my mentor and coach for my tenure in HP made a point very clear… Execution is not a leadership trait, it’s a basic essential that is required in each and every employee hired in the organization, every employee should exactly know what the output he/she generates is. … WOW… a good learning… all the books I had read on execution talked more from a leadership end … here is something new I discovered … He went on adding and giving example on how execution can be seen in every walk of our life and every member of the society, the world is a well-oiled engine and everyone is able to deliver … your spouse prepares a bed tea and wakes you up is only because the milkman delivers the milk on time… that’s execution… she prepares the kids to school and drops them to the school bus… that’s execution… the school van picks up kids on time and drops them to school and brings them back home on time… that’s execution… open your eyes and see … you will see execution in every walk of life … this is a basic essential …

Why do we fail to execute if this is so basic trait…?

When I popped up this question to him he said… my friend.., you can successfully execute if you are empowered to… what your spouse can do… your maid cannot unless she is empowered… WOW.. now see the connection… execution is linked to empowerment…

Nonetheless, he went on to add… it’s not only empowerment … you may empower your maid to dress up your kids and ensure they reach the school bus at the gate and this may slip … it may not happen daily… or your will face issues here… now this is linked to Engagement…

How are you engaging with your maid and make her feel responsible and take the ownership…

My conversation went on and on with a lot of examples and real life situations that can be easily understood … I am convinced… and I still face a challenge keeping my team motivated enough and engaged …

Now there are a lot of factors that impact this concept in the corporate world… as we grow the leadership sessions, trainings and talks revolve more on understanding the finances and the financial ratios… the additions and subtractions… gains … profits and losses… etc… and in a five day leadership training there will be a couple of workshops for half a day on employee engagement … personal branding etc… I am not complaining … there are trainers who do stress at every point that you should keep people engaged and empowered but I have not seen it really happening at all levels…  

Real, tangible, quantitative data confirms that happy and engaged employees lead to greater profits and higher stock prices, a friend of mine used to work for NETAPP and this company has a very simple practice of engaging employee and empowering them with a reward program called as “CIO FOR A DAY” where the CIO goes to each and every employee after the annual results are posted and thanks them for the good work they have done. He carries real examples and appreciation emails and tells them how much it matters for him and the team.

People quit managers and not companies is a quote everyone is aware about and very less effort is put in to really build the human capital. It’s not only the leadership talks or shows that matter what really matters is have you touched everyone in the organization.  A CEO of a large company makes a very impressive speech … but this does not reach as a benefit the end employee who is just a few years of experience in the company and doing the real execution … may be testing, coding, building, designing etc… as you grow up the management ladder you are but nothing building strategies and seeing the plans come thru.

While you can be successful in engaging the employee… but I have not seen any behaviour demonstrating empowerment. Decision making can happen only if you are empowered, your spouse can take a decision to perform a task later or forgo to cut down the time to prepare the kids to reach the school van is your maid performing the same set of activities empowered to do so…

Empowerment can come only and only if you can willing to take the responsibility and are accountable for the actions, I have seen only in few occasions the Sr. Manager and AVPs although entitled hold back to sign off for various reasons and pass the buck on … is this a trait you have anchored into your behaviour right from your child days… I believe so… fall back on the families of people who you have seen making decisions… forget good or bad … but they make decisions and you can relate them roots into their childhood … culture they are brought up in or education…

Well… there is a long long way for the Indian corporate to go and understand how to really engage and empower which in turn improves execution that leads to customer satisfaction and repeat business or more business.

In principle and theory everyone agrees to but the very human nature that is filled with insecurities and commitments will fancy on titles like VP, AVP, Sr. Manager, GM, MD etc… and lacks the ability to engage and empower fails to execute and one fine day will stand at the bottom … and will continue to see the bottom-line number diminish ….

 

Are you really ready for Promotion

Often, we go low when someone turns down our plea for a job promotion… especially the HRM or the Manager you trust the most and are your real well-wishers … it’s not that they don’t want us to grow but they believe we will need more hands on experience before a change in band or a promotion. I came across a similar situation in my career path and this did put me down for some time until I read this story… I believe reading this story will surely make you rethink if you too have come across a similar situation and if someone you trusted puts your promotion down or advices beside it…

Reading the holy scripture Ramayan we know Lord Ram was sent to exile by his step mother Kaikai under the influence of Manthara, but this is not the complete fact, have you ever tried to research why did Kaikai ask Ram to be exiled for 14 years only and why not 10 years or 20 years etc… In fact she took this decision consulting Saint Vashishta who was the teacher of Ram.

It so happened that the Saint meets Kaikai and asks her why is a decision is taken so early to crown Ram as the king, and she explains because it was suggest by the saint himself.

Vashishta then tells Kaikai, he is indeed glad to see Ram ruling the kingdom but Ram according to the saint was not ready to be crowned so early, but in fact needed more experience to take up this role, he shares the data with Kaikai that it takes 14 long years to travel the entire kingdom by foot and only then Ram will come to know the pain of his people in  the kingdom, understand the boundaries and the abundance of what his ancestors have left for him… in these 14 years of travel across the kingdom he will meet a lot of learned souls which will be an enriching knowledge exchange and the ups and downs he will face will be good learning experience for him to lead the country as a king.,

The saint also went on to say that let Ram in these 14 years of exile should not enter the limits of the neighboring kingdom but stay in the forest area so that when he comes back and takes up the charge as a king the neighbors who otherwise would have helped him during his exile would seek for undue help from Ram once he becomes the king.

Going thru this anecdote, I realized that when your most trusted manager or mentor or HRM say you are not ready for promotion they are your real well-wishers who want you to gain more experience before you pick up a bigger role and grow in your career.

Remeber... nor you are Ram neither is your mentor Saint Vashishta ... and this is Kalyuga.

Decision… what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.

Chocolate or Ice cream…? McDonalds or Pizza…? Coke or Fresh Fruit Juice …? Life or Death…? Shortcut or Main road…? Drive down or take a walk…? Yes or No…? Hire or No Hire…? Good or Bad...? Buy or Sell...? Invest or Spend...?

We make tons of quick decisions and 90% of them unconsciously and very quickly…often we call them choices; most of them may be correct and most of them may go against us and hem-haw over in agony.

Our choices and decisions predominantly are based on our personality and the way we think, most of them have roots to our decision making skills we picked up subconsciously while we were kids. We choose many actions from our own experience, biases, opinions, memories…

I was talking to a very old friend of mine, and he asked me a funny question… “A company where an employee is currently working does not recognize his/her potential and the same person in another company when hired … is hired for a higher position and gets a pretty good hike… what the current company did not understand about him in past few years… the new company assessed in a 30min interview round and made a decision”….

Few days back I visited my stock broker and he quoted “Listening to others opinions and not trusting yourself - Most traders have failed numerous times. Put your boat in the water - The song goes, "Ships are safest in the harbor but that is not what ships are for…” now everything again boils down the decision, here it is to Buy or Sell a stock that is again an emotion that holds you back, fear and greed…

Here is an anecdote; you would have heard this story in your leadership trainings or in some seminars etc… pretty popular one on Which one will you choose?

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track. The train came, and you were just beside the track interchange. You could make the train change its course to the disused track and saved most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make................

The first thought that comes to the mind and we might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, I thought the same way initially because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.

This kind of dilemma happens around us every day… especially the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are.

The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed.

I was conducting an workshop at Delhi, the audience were members from DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), AAI (Airport Authority or India) and ATC (Air Traffic Control). We had a very long conversation around this story and every one had his or her own opinion, to add more flavor to the discussion we introduced an additional emotional element …

Option 1: Now imagine the one who is going to change the train has his kid playing on the disused track

Option 2: Now imagine the one who is going to change the train has his kid playing on the active track

Few replied to sacrifice the kid and put the train on the disused track

Few were of the opinion that the choice that kid made to play on the disused track was right, why should he be killed for the ignorance of others

Few blamed that authorities / parents / teachers etc… for allowing the kids to play on the railway track

Few were worried on what would happen to the life of people in the train if we put the train on the disused track

When the above variables were introduced in the story,

Few were of the opinion and said I am not worried of anyone else but my kid…. (Emotion)

One of them said… it’s ok to sacrifice my kid for the sake of others again an Emotional decision.

One of them shared a technology tip that trains should have auto sensors installed

Someone told can we inform the train engine driver to stop the train

One of them told can we rush towards the kids and ask them to get out of the track

We never reached a conclusion; every decision has its own advantage and disadvantage…

While we work with people around us, we will far sure end up with conflicting situations and delay the decision making, sometimes we will get into a deadlock situation, every party involved in the decision making will be equally influential and will have his or her own opinion.

I faced a tough situation too, at some juncture did feel that enough is enough, let me go with the flow and continue with what is happening, any way it’s just my job and after few days I will move on. But my inner conscious did not permit me do this… again a decision dilemma, here is what I love the most, talk to someone when you are in such a situation, I fell back on my Mentor and talked to her and suddenly a spark aroused with two options… I have always noticed this, and you too would have come across, you know the solutions and sometimes due to stress or various other factors the mind simply stops working ... talking to someone helps brush the dust thats settled in....

1.       Continue the way we are doing now … find a quick fix so that the operations don’t get stalled

2.       Benchmark and understand the best practices across the globe and align the process accordingly per industry best practices…,

While option 2 is the best one to do for all the business process, often we don’t do a benchmarking excercise... for various reasons (time, cost, schedule slip etc...) and the learning from this incidence reinforced to stick to the fundamentals principles of quality… go by the rule book and follow the framework.

Quite often we get into this kind of situations where you don’t know the right process or the wrong process… end of the day we need to deliver the results to our customer… that’s what the customer is looking for… if a quick fix works … go ahead and put the fix in place and then on a long run mature the process and make it more capable.

All that I learnt is …   “That what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right."