Here's a way to see if what you've decided makes sense. By Lisa Hochgraf
At the first-ever summer CEO Institute I: Strategic Planning held in August at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, attendees learned a variety of decision-making techniques from Wharton School of Business Adjunct Professor Jim Austen--and from each other. You can read about them in "Disciplined Decision-Making" in the November issue of Credit Union Management magazine. In addition to strategies for making a decision, Austen gave attendees a safeguard to use after a decision is made. The safeguard was based on the book How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D. Groopman says that once he has made a diagnosis, he generates a short list of alternatives as a safeguard against cognitive errors. Most medical mistakes, he asserts, are not problems with technology, but a doctor making the wrong call. “Managers are comfortable; leaders are uncomfortable,” Austin said. In addition to celebrating when things are going well, “leaders generate that list of things that could upset the apple cart.” Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES senior editor. Read other posts about this year's summer CEO Institute here, here and here. Learn more about CEO Institute and the Certified Chief Executive designation.
