Decision making beyond options
Laszlo Kövari
In most of the cases there are more than one perceived options available for decision making. I won’t deal with them now.
What’s interesting is when there are no options so the decision is a “yes or no” question: the only available option is going to be maintained or discarded. Chances will be developed or one finds himself with no options, “outside” of the familiar domain.
In mechanical (e.g. business) organizations almost always the same decision is made: (at least partially) keep the available option!
This is due to the lack of vertical integration within the organization:
- There is no concept that could serve as an integration platform
- Since there is no concept, there is no organization along a concept. Instead, there is an organization within which roles and functions are mechanical, mostly without foundation
- The illusion of integration is maintained by the presence of options
It is obvious that no manager, who fulfills a mechanical function, may make such a decision, which in lack of a concept, also eliminates options.
The essence of leadership is a principle based concept; by representing the principle concept, the leader creates options, seemingly out of thin air; in reality however, out of the concept.
Decision making, that aims at maintaining options, even bad ones, is a clear sign of that there is no concept, there is no leadership and of course that there is no organic element present in the organization.
This is characteristic to all organizations. Almost all of them lack a real concept.
It is obvious that without an appropriate concept we can’t talk about strategy, leadership or organization.
It is less obvious that leadership, strategy and organization are based on the same foundation.
Define this foundation, and you’ll change entire markets.