‘Download’ a DPS (Decision Positioning System),       a compass to navigate difficult situations During the pandemic crisis and the aftershocks of possible economic and social challenges, businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and communities will face difficult choices. In a difficult time, it is important to move forward together. A shared decision-making process fosters clear thinking, increases creativity, and builds unity. Part One described the importance of readiness through deliberate preparation and careful framing of the decision. When you are ready, these discussion steps will help you carefully weigh your options and discern the best course of action.

Bottom Line: The path through uncertainty and risk has definite steps. You can pause at any time. If you make a misstep you can back up and spend more time at a previous step. If you take a wrong turn, you can get back in step. However, you can’t skip a step without weakening your decision. STEP ONE – ENGAGE by simply listening to each person’s initial perspective to lay the foundation for a learning dialogue. Focus Question: What point of view do I bring to this decision? (Each person takes a few minutes to describe how they see the situation and what seems significant to her.) STEP TWO – EXPLORE the range of values and principles involved in this decision Focus Question: Who are the stakeholders affected by the decision AND what is important to them? (the group works together to develop a comprehensive list of individuals and groups to consider AND identifies the values and principles that matter to them; this includes the organization itself) STEP THREE – ELEVATE your focus to the priority values and principles to guide your choice among the options available  Focus Question: Which 2-3 values or principles must be at the heart of our decision? (Each person advocates for what is most important. The decision maker should go last.) STEP FOUR – EXPAND and refine the available options with as much thought and creativity as time permits  Focus Question: How can we expand upon the obvious alternatives to increase the set of options to consider? (Group discussion) STEP FIVE – EDUCATE each other about the consequences and risks (the downside)  Focus Question: What are the probable and possible consequences of each option in addition to the desired outcomes we intend? (Group discussion)

STEP SIX – EVALUATE and choose the option that most closely aligns with the priority values and principles. Review the risks of your preferred option to develop a plan to mitigate the downside or confirm your willingness to accept the consequences.  Focus Question: Which option aligns best with our priority values and principles? (For the decision maker in consultation with the group) STEP SEVEN – EXPLAIN the decision to affected stakeholders (those benefited, burdened, and concerned) in plain, candid language that includes the reasoning and the downside. Focus Question: How can we credibly communicate this decision to those who need to know and understand? (For the decision maker in consultation with the group) Future newsletters will build on this overview of the STEPS with specific guidance to skillfully implement the process, manage group dynamics, and make stronger decisions.

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Words of Wisdom

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein Physicist

Stand for something or you will fall for anything. Today’s mighty oak is yesterday’s nut that held its ground.
Rosa Parks Civil rights pioneer

Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.
Wallace Stevens Poet

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Practice Tip

Frame Your Decision Deliberately

Consciously allocate time between the problem space (Steps 1-2) and the solution space (Steps 3-7)

As dedicated “problem solvers,” many of us have to overcome the habit of quickly jumping to solutions.

You are not ready to consider solutions until you really understand the problem(s) to be solved and the concerns of affected stakeholders
Seek to Understand  Pause to walk around the problem space together. Observe what seems to be important. Share your point of view with others. Make room for everyone’s voice. Be willing to see what others see. Reflect on other’s angle of vision and how it mirrors or differs from yours.  It helps to draw out everyone’s contributions if the leader holds back to express her views after everyone else has spoken.

Don’t Believe Everything You Think. Look Again! When you have more than an hour, spend at least a third of your total time in the problem space to improve the group’s IQ and the way you are able to think together. Try out different decision frames. Assess the quality of the information (accuracy, significance). Identify missing information. Stress-test working assumptions. Identify relevant lessons learned.

Be Tenaciously Creative  There are usually more than two options, even if some are variations. Find them! For example, you can take an action today. Or, you can wait for one week and take the same action. Or, you can wait with the status quo and only take action if some “trip-wire” event takes place. Ask additional  questions to generate more options.

What if……?

Why couldn’t we….?

How have others addressed this challenge?

What would _________ do?

Silence>Stillness>Truth

Hold the decision question open in silence. Space for reflection may be a simple stretch break at a tense moment in the process, an agreement to sleep on it and reconvene the next day to make a final decision, or a ‘walk around the lake’ that allows the power and presence of nature to quiet the mind and heart. Clarity and conviction can emerge in open space. Intuitive wisdom sometimes speaks with a still, small voice.

• Reduce Framing Bias   How you pose a question, problem, or decision affects the way see, assess, and respond. Ultimately, the quality of your frame affects the soundness of the decision.  Frames include and exclude experience, values, training, people, options, and relevant information. Consider alternative ways to frame the decision question to consciously choose a frame that is well-focused AND expansive enough to hold all the relevant issues. 
• Get Out of the Either-Or Box  Don’t surrender your creativity before you get started.  In situations of urgency, a common mistake is to plunge in “frame blind” and assume that a difficult decision is an either-or choice between unsatisfactory options. Frame the question to hold a space open for different, better options.
• Engage Multiple Perspectives  Remember that what you see depends upon where you stand, and how you frame the issue and the possible options. The decision making expert and Nobel laureate, Daniel Kahneman, has an acronym that sums up the findings of neuroscience about the inherent limitations of one person’s perspective, no matter how smart he or she is. W.Y.S.I.A.T.I.  WHAT YOU SEE IS ALL THERE IS!  Recognize that your perspective is inherently subjective and limited. Be willing to become wiser by  SEEING through others eyes and learning.