Decision making: Avoiding two false choices

Management decision making is crucial to the success of an organization. While that statement may appear moot, the decision making process is often taken for granted in many companies. In a few businesses, the process is even short circuited to gain support for some very questionable policy choices.

Instead of helping the company move forward, the options provided are often self serving at best, or damaging to the business at worst. The choices presented to the manager are very often placed in the form of two false choices. The manager, CEO, or board are expected to select either Option A or Option B. While that dual selection process may appear reasonable on the surface, it can miss other better alternatives. In any situation, there are always more than two possible courses of action. The alternative choices just may not appear so obvious at first glance.



The scenario usually unfolds with the manager being told to select between two possible courses of action. Surprisingly, the manager very often accepts those two choices as the entire universe of options. Agonizing over the pair of bad choices, the legendary lesser of two evils is chosen with reluctance and great trepidation. When the alleged lesser bad is selected, the organization suffers as a result. Instead of narrowing the universe down to what amounts to a rock and a hard place, other better courses of action should be sought for the good of the organization.

It is often surprising how many people will accept, without further evidence or questioning, that only two possible solutions exist for any problem. The reasons for that phenomenon are many and varied, and are deeply seated in society. For example, news programs show what they consider "both sides" of an issue. In reality, far more than two points of view exist, and are often far removed from the ones presented on the ubiquitous split screen. The same multiple decision thinking holds true for other aspects of life and business as well.



In many cases, the false choices offered are part of a personal agenda on the part of a decision maker. That personal ambition can manifest itself at any level from the CEO and the boardroom to the custodial closet. In many companies, personal agendas outweigh the good of the company and its customers. My manipulating the decision making process into dual false choices, the personal agenda takes precedence over the company.

In other business situations, the two bad choices may result from faulty data, poor record keeping, or a failure to embrace creative thinking. Incomplete data and flawed accounts paint a false picture of the company. Using that incorrect information to make policy choices can lead to disaster. In these troubled situations, the decision makers will seek the proverbial magic bullet. All too often, because the decision makers failed to look more deeply into the real company problems, the supposed cure only has two options. Very bad things are the usual result.



Don't let your thinking be limited to only two options. Your management team must look further, and seek other more viable alternatives. Include the entire staff, or a team selected from a representative overview of the company personnel, as your creative task force. The selection of people will vary with the size of the business. Smaller companies can brainstorm with the entire staff. Larger organizations will have to select and rotate individuals from every department. Let ideas and thinking run free. Don't limit thinking or suggestions. Usually, the very best ideas are the ones that appear most outrageous at first blush.

With total company involvement in the decision making process, the false dichotomy of two choices, will become a thing of the past. Look beyond narrowing your scope to only a pair of lukewarm or even bad choices. Seek the ideas from every department in your company. The right answers already exist for the problem. It is only a matter of letting your people help you to discover them.

You will no longer be faced with the pain of deciding upon the lesser of two evils again.

Tags: decision making, management, business choices, staff involvement.

Disaster management: When things go wrong

Disaster can strike a business at any time. Crises can range all the way from failed shipments and lost accounts to natural events like hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes.

At any time, a severe problem can wreak havoc with your company. In many cases, the nightmare scenario can force a business into bankruptcy. A prudent company is prepared to handle any emergency.

In the day to day operations of any organization, problems can arise that threaten efficiency, customer service, and occasionally the very existence of the company itself. How a business person meets a crisis, can make all of the difference, in how the company weathers the storm. Panic and desperate actions are the last thing anyone should consider as a solution. Losing your head can very often mean losing the business entirely.



Before any crisis arises, an action plan should be developed and adopted across the organization. When drafting an emergency policy, it is crucial to include everyone in the company.

Since every employee will be affected, and every staff member is part of the solution, their input is essential to the plan's success. Every few months, a planning date should be set aside to create management and staff guidelines for crisis management.

The first meetings can discuss and set up techniques for meeting more standard issues that face most organizations. Topics can range from working with dissatisfied customers to failed deliveries to problems in production. With these plans in place, be sure to allow for individual staff initiative to solve problems on the spot. If you have the trust of your employees, and they are confident in their actions, many small issues can be remedied with ease. By providing a framework for creative conflict resolution, the front line people can improve customer service to higher levels.

For more infrequent, but potentially devastating crises, more involved and strict planning must be instituted by the organization. Plans for evacuation of the premises, business continuity, and cash flow maintenance must be prepared and readied for any natural or man made disaster. Be sure to go through some dry run rehearsals so everyone knows what to do, where to be, and how to handle their assigned tasks. If the worst happens, and disaster strikes, the company can survive the ordeal. When the crisis ends, the business can return to the market, and be again ready for business.



As with all planning operations, everyone in the company should be involved in the development of the procedures. Creative sessions, complete with the standard brainstorming activities of open discussion and free ranging thought, must be used effectively.

Keep in mind that the best ideas might appear from unexpected sources. The front line sales, delivery, production, maintenance, and office staff might be your best providers of creative solutions. Top management doesn't know everything and a failure to recognize that fact can be fatal in an emergency.

Keep your lines of communication open, and ask for advice from the people most affected by problems. Listen to their suggestions, and prepare a plan for any emergency situation. The company you save may be your own.

Prepare for disaster, and then hope it never arrives. If it does, however, keep your head and put your survival plan into action. Your planning ahead may be the lifeboat your organization needed to remain in business.

Tags: disaster planning, crisis management, brainstorming, business continuity.

Simple marketing: Ideas you can use everyday

Marketing is one of those big concept departments. Everyone talks about it, but not all business people are entirely certain who to make their marketing work. Constantly seeking the grand slam marketing idea, they miss the easy to use daily techniques. Some small efforts can reap some huge rewards.

There is unlimited untapped value in adding one customer or client at a time. While many business people think in terms of mass markets, for most entrepreneurs, customers arrive as individuals. The small attractors, that give notice to your products and services, can work wonders. Adding many new buyers together will enhance any company's bottom line.



Some quick, cheap, and mainly free marketing ideas:

* Be sure to include your website link on your email signature line. It costs nothing, and can lead to some clicks to your site or blog.

* Place your website URL, blog URL, and email address on your business cards. It is shocking how many business cards do not contain that vital information.

* When working on a remote job site, be sure to have a sign with your company name, address, phone number, and site URL. You never know who might see the high quality of your service.

* Place a product flyer or small catalogue in every fulfilled order you ship to customers. Make buying more products and services from you as easy as possible.

* Include your website URL on your shipping containers and boxes when you get new ones made for your company. Keep your website URL visible and easy to find at any time.

* Attend networking events and listen to problems that people in your target market might be experiencing on a daily basis. Provide solutions to their problems.

* Be part of local community groups and events. Some of your very best customers and company evangelists may be right in your own back yard.

* Be sure to have lots of good old fashioned business cards with you at every event that you attend. Hand them out freely. If you run out of cards, have more printed with all of your contact information.



* Offer free advice to others on your blog and website. Position yourself as an expert in your industry. People like to buy from others who they consider authorities on an issue.

* Start a blog and build relationships with current and future customers.

* Send press releases for all newsworthy events surrounding your business. If you have no interesting events in your company, it's time to create them.

* Always be accessible to the news media for interviews. There is no better free advertising and endorsement and you are propelled to a thought leadership position in your industry immediately.

* Keep looking for new ideas. Ask your staff, vendors, customers, and non-customers for ideas on products and services. Hold brainstorming sessions with staff members from all areas of the company.

Marketing need not be a mysterious undertaking, peopled by alleged geniuses. It is mainly common sense and helping to solve problems for others.

Add some easy marketing concepts to your company today.

Tags: marketing ideas, media, networking, creativity.

Preventing mistakes: Creativity to the rescue

All business owners and managers make mistakes. In fact, if no mistakes are made, nothing is being done in the business at all. Literally.

Fear that one's mistakes leads to immediate dismissal simply locks down the company. No one will suggest any new ideas, and will revert to covering the backs and keeping their heads down. Entrepreneurs should welcome innovation and fresh, creative ideas. Forward thinkers and innovators should be rewarded and encouraged to seek new solutions to the organization's problems. Mistakes will be made. The key is to keep the errors small, and to learn from the experience.

An innovative company seeks new approaches to the short and long term challenges facing the business. A leader encourages and supports the creative process and lets the creative process take form and shape. Once a solution is identified, the next step is implementation. Here is where many creative companies fall down. Moving the plan from the drawing board to the real world is often messy, and marked with smudges and crumpled paper.


In many cases, the plan is formulated and handed off to someone in the company with instructions amounting to no more than get to it. Of course, without an implemention direction in place, the best idea can flounder. Planning is a multiple part process, and it doesn't end when the blueprints are drawn up for building the perfect company. As in any building project, the blueprints are only the starting point. There is a lot of hammering to be done after the ink is dry.

After the creative team has set out the concept for the company, the next step in the creative process is a step by step system to make the idea work in practice. For the entrepreneur, this meeting of minds is designed to map out a course of action for the plan. Surprisingly, this crucial step is often missing from many business plans.

One technique for implementation planning is to start at the finish line. Picture the perfect outcome, with phones ringing from customers, sales people closing deals, happy staff taking care of business, and the profits entering everyone's bank accounts.

Examine the process in reverse, in a manner similar to a film running backwards. Follow those customers through their buying cycle, and how they arrived at your doorstep or website. Consider the vital technology that is in place at the end of your movie, and make plans for its acquisition. Count the number of people needed to make the production a success.



As with any plans, things can and usually will go very wrong. Have your team consider every possibility, no matter how remote. Yes, an asteroid could indeed go through your roof, so don't discount anything in the first disaster list. As with any creative endeavour, consider everything, and prune the list later. After your potential derailment list is completed, a second series of creative thoughts is needed. The purpose of this brainstorming session is to create contingency plans for each of the most likely disasters.

It's said that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Creativity goes far in preventing many mistakes from happening in the first place. Creative thinking reduces risk, and boosts your business.

Tags: creative thinking, business planning, idea implementation, preventing mistakes.

Incorrect information: Avoiding tragedy

All business people receive incorrect information from time to time. The mistaken ideas may range from simple errors in reading or calculations, to outright deception on the part of employees. The key for business owners and managers is preventing the weak business intelligence from crippling the business.

Bad information can hurt a business in more than one way. While the obvious results may include lower sales, lost or dissatisfied customers, or production and distribution problems. All of these are crucial issues that can damage a company seriously. They are also difficulties that can be corrected over time. Unless there is wilful damage inflicted, most problems are challenges faced by all organizations at one time or another. A more insidious and hidden problem may be a tightening of decision making and control by the owner or top management people.



In a misguided attempt to prevent any future problems, many entrepreneurs have a default position that appears in times of crisis. That standard response is to micromanage the organization and to take more decision making responsibility upon themselves. Instead of recognizing the mistakes happen, and that no one is infallible, the business owner centralizes decision making. Instead of gaining more control over the situation, the result is often the polar opposite.

In centralized decision making companies, no one makes any decisions, and relies on the official management approved response. While the control freak might believe the so-called by the book answer may be the only right one, spectacular disasters are the more likely outcome. Individual circumstances require judgement calls on the spot by staff people. In more cases than many people would like to admit, the prescribed official response may be the wrong one. Instead of solving a problem, a new one is created. Rather than risk their continued employment status, staff members rely on the book to cover their backs.



Delegation of decision making responsibility is a better option. Make certain everyone knows who is responsible for what decisions and choices. Allow a reasonable degree of flexibility for the many individual issues that don't fit the form. Employees who are empowered to make on the spot executive decisions will more often than not choose the right course of action. If they have to get approval for even the tiniest concession, they risk losing a customer. They also become robots, rather than thinking and productive workers. Empowered staffers are productive employees.

The ownership must accept that mistakes will happen. In fact, if no mistakes are being made, then nothing new or innovative is being attempted by the organization. Treading water for too long a time usually ends up in drowning. Let your employees take chances and discover new ideas. The information they provide may be flawed, but if the person understands that errors are part of life, they are much less likely to provide deliberately false data. Bogus information is a symptom of a centralized decision making organization. The employee is responding in a self protective manner, and that is not good for any company.

Instead of worrying about mistakes in information, encourage employees to provide the best and most honest data available. Be prepared to accept bad news, and encourage the staff members responsible to find solutions to the problem. Fear driven companies will only get told what the staff members think they want to hear. That staff fear can lead to tragedy and even bankruptcy.

Be open to potential problems, and you are more likely to hear innovative and profitable solutions.

Tags: creative ideas, incorrect information, decision making, delegation.