Beyond the purely academic study of strategic decision making, there is a pragmatic realisation in many Boardrooms, that processes must change.
Impacted by an increasingly turbulent business environment, decision longevity has shortened. Decison making bodies generally meet more frequently as they seek to develop a collective understanding of what Dr Laurence Lyons and I term 'The Rich Picture' of the context in which their organisations must perform. At London Business School, Prof. Don Sull characterises 'The New Normal' as like peering into fog and suggests that strategic timeframes need to recognise this uncertainty. Prof. Zeger Degraeve highlights the need to focus on the quality and process of decision making rather than just the results achieved.
Many business leaders, including Jack Welch, ex CEO of GE, highight geo-political, socio-economic and competitive dynamics as key trends to track in creating a better understanding of the context in which strategic decisions must be made and executed. They point to the emergence of new markets and the convergence of technologies as providing ethical challenges, which regulation and legislation regimes are seeking to address.
As Boards review their structures, processes and dynamics, three key questions arise:
Who can make strategic decisions? or How far along the control - empowerment continuum are we prepared to travel?
How can we ensure that alternatives and their consequences are explored? or How do we determine and revisit our risk appetite?
What criteria will be use to choose between alternatives? or How can we best use our capability to produce value?
The disciplines of strategic decision making are clearly under review.
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