Interesting article from the current issue of the Ivey Business Journal. Why making the decisions the right way is more important than making the right decisions (pdf) by Michael A. Roberto of Harvard Business School.
Abstract: Many managers disdain "process" - organizations that put a premium on "the way things have always been done around here" over those that champion bold and rapid decision making. Ironically, as this author states, making the right decision is less important than focusing on how the decision is made - the process. In a compelling argument he makes the case that examining how decisions are made, rather than the decisions themselves, will lead to better decisions.
I particularly like the focus on a process around decision-making. It reminds me of the work of my former colleague, Kevin Howe, as written up in Quality Decision Making for Empowered Cultures. At Searle / Pharmacia / Pfizer, this model has more modes of decision making, but the three modes highlighted in the article are the essential ones.
[found via the communities of practice YahooGroup.]