“Decisions take too long” is a familiar refrain in many organizations. Is it always correct?
This complaint arises from people who depend on those decisions. Sometimes they even see that the decision is slowing down the overall project or effort under consideration. And when it happens, I generally agree that the decision is taking so long.
But aren’t there examples where the decision (even “big” ones) happens quickly? Example situations might be when there is a big opportunity and we have to decide NOW to take advantage of it; or there is an emergency to which we must respond NOW. Or maybe a more prosaic situation that the decision-maker has what they need and they decide.
If not all decisions take long, then how do we can create the situation in which the decision is quick? I’m not inclined to generate emergencies, so that’s out for now. But how about making sure we have the information required BEFORE the decision is needed? That might even mean asking the decision maker what they need (what they currently know - let’s not get crazy). And this implies that we know who the decision maker is - and who the deniers might be. Do we understand what issues will arise with the decision - and have we done our best to understand what those are? And can we change the recommendation so that the whole system benefits? Even better - don’t ask for decisions. Make a recommendation, and take some burden off the decision maker - you and the team are often in the best position to understand what is going on.
In short, if you want fast decisions, create the environment for those decisions to be fast.