The Open Organization

6

Making Inclusive Decisions

The conventional approach to decision making centers around equipping the responsible person with the information needed to make an informed decision. It’s about gathering facts and analysis and convening the appropriate team to give input. Companies often have entire strategic planning departments analyze, apply frameworks, and communicate recommendations. But in the end, based on that information and feedback, the responsible executive makes the decision.

The specific act of making a decision in a hierarchy can be very efficient. Only a single individual is needed to make the call. That can be a real benefit. However, as I described in chapter 3, there are myriad issues with this style of decision making. Appropriate ...