Blog
March 22, 2018
I recently spoke to an executive who was concerned about the prospects of gaining organizational buy-in on a new process improvement initiative. Historically, decisions in her company have been made in an ad hoc manner and have been routinely impulsive; her company views decision-making as a social process that promotes innovation and entrepreneurship rather than a systematic process for building cross-functional buy-in. Instead of establishing a collaborative process and environment, […]
February 28, 2018
BREAKING NEWS, followed by retractions and clarifications is occurring more frequently as the news cycle gets faster and the competition to be first gets greater. Studies have shown that speed and accuracy often have an inversely proportional relationship. This speed-accuracy trade-off presents itself in many aspects of our daily lives, from the news networks reporting election results and world events, officials and umpires reviewing instant replays, to parking a car […]
February 21, 2018
In my last blog Immigration Reform: Prioritizing the Four Pillars for a Common-Sense Solution, I recommended that Congress consider using a proven group decision-making process (e.g., the Analytic Hierarchy Process) to determine the relative importance of the four pillars (below) that have been put forth by the Trump Administration. When a decision is decomposed into criteria and sub-criteria, and the relative importance of them is accurately determined, a decision model […]
February 16, 2018
The national immigration reform debate rages on, while congressmen and women make a disorganized attempt to find a legislative proposal that will garner the necessary 60 votes in the Senate and a majority in the House of Representatives. Their haphazard approach is akin to a blind squirrel finding a nut in the backyard. It may happen occasionally, but it is neither efficient nor effective. Congress should consider using a proven […]
January 23, 2018
A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more organizations or companies to cooperate in a specific business activity, so that each benefit from the strengths of the other to achieve an objective. Alliances typically involve sharing strategy, revenues, costs, and/or risks. The formation of strategic alliances has become more prevalent over the last two decades in response to globalization and increasing uncertainty in the business environment. Some estimates […]
January 19, 2018
If your agency or company is planning to modernize one or more systems, the entire process could take two to five years. During this period, human and financial resources will be in greater demand than ever, as there will be a need for two spending streams – one to plan and execute the modernization initiative and one to maintain the legacy system. Now, you have a dilemma: How do you […]
December 19, 2017
Since the 70s, group decision support solutions have been delivered to clients much like the delivery man rolling the wooden crate into Mr. Parker’s living room. They have typically been packaged and sold under the premise that the client’s “problem” is solved once the product has been delivered. The value proposition has been to lead clients to believe that they will be able to save huge amounts of money by […]
December 13, 2017
Today’s leaders are defined by their leadership styles, with executives like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos making headlines nearly every day regarding their innovation, influence, and power. While their management philosophies and beliefs vary greatly, though, they all have one trait in common: They are excellent decision makers. For some people, decision making is easy and inherent. For others, the undertaking is nearly impossible – provoking inner demons […]
November 2, 2017
I had the opportunity to attend a conference last week on big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence that brought back images from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, gave a rousing keynote speech on how well the Commonwealth of Virginia is doing in autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity, vineyards, and even microbreweries. Then, the panelists came out and clanged the proverbial bell much like the […]
October 20, 2017
Buying a new home, relocating to a new city, making a healthcare decision for an aging family member – these are all multi-criteria decisions that can be complex and stressful when there are only one or two decision-makers. Presume for a moment that you and ten members of your extended family need to make a group decision. Better yet, not one of the decisions, but all of the decisions – […]