Hard Decisions Made Easy: How leaders in large organisations make complex decisions that stick

Table of Contents:
Foreword Introduction 1 The Case For Better Decision Making Typical decision making What is better decision making? Why ‘better’ decision making? Why do people think that better decision making is hard? Gut feeling is no longer enough Bridging the strategy-execution gap Governance is not decision making Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 2 The P5 Decision Framework Underlying principles Core components of the P5 Decision Framework Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 3 Plan Setting up for success Questions to ask in the Plan phase Foundations of the Plan phase Planning in practice Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 4 Prepare Value What is value? Value is more than just money Questions to ask in the Prepare Value phase Foundations of the Prepare Value phase Prepare Value in practice Attributes of good criteria Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 5 Prepare Alternatives What does a good alternative look like? Types of alternatives Questions to ask in the Prepare Alternatives phase Foundations of the Prepare Alternatives phase How to develop alternatives What data do we need? Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 6 Prioritise Why prioritise? Questions to ask in the Prioritise phase Foundations of the Prioritise phase Prioritisation in practice Evaluating alternatives – the technical process Order of priority and sensitivity analysis Decision Conferencing – the social process Decision Conferencing in practice Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 7 Package Why package? The core inputs to the Package phase Constraints versus criteria in decision making Understanding value for money Questions to ask during the Package phase Foundations of the Package phase Making trade-offs Packaging in summary Packaging in practice Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary 8 Present Why present? Questions to ask in the Present phase Foundations of the Present phase Present in practice Avoiding pitfalls Reflection Summary Conclusion What action can you take right now? References Acknowledgements The Author

About the Author :
Paul Gordon is the CEO of Catalyze APAC, a niche consulting firm that transforms decision making in private and public sector organisations. He is a trusted adviser to executives and senior leaders across many industries. For more than fifteen years, Paul has helped some of the largest and most influential organisations in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom make difficult decisions that involve budgets in the billions and impact millions of stakeholders.

Review :
Every leader could benefit from the practical approach to decision making set out in this book. Too often, important decisions in business get settled by who yells the loudest. Paul’s very practical book shows you how to manage decision processes in a better way that will generate the best outcomes for your organisation and get the buy in from the team so that things actually get implemented. Patrick Sharry, AGSM Fellow, University of New South Wales A superbly crafted book that is intensely practical and theoretically sound, with many real case studies! Lawrence D Phillips, Emeritus Professor of Decision Sciences, London School of Economics & Political Science His findings and approach are common sense. They are practical and applicable. I recommend them. Rhys Jones, Lieutenant General (Retired), Former Chief of Defence, New Zealand Defence Force