Category Archives: Decision Making

Time Span of Decisions

“Let’s look at some of the specific decisions that you have to make today that will have impact later in the project?”

Taylor sat back. “Okay. Let’s just look at the buy out,” he started. “In the buy out, I have to purchase some large pieces of equipment that will be installed. I have to work with our project managers and also with our purchasing guy. Here are some of my decisions that I have to make today, but it may be months before we find out if it was the right decision.

“Will the price of this equipment (to be installed) go up or go down. If I make a commitment now and the price goes up, I am a hero. If I wait to make the purchase and the price goes up, I am a goat.

“Will the vendor that supplies the equipment still be in business a year from now. I may have to put down some deposit money. But even if we lose the deposit money, the real risk is trying to scramble at the last minute to find an alternate supplier. The costs may have changed and some of this stuff has lead times. If the project gets delayed because we don’t have the equipment on-site to be installed, we may be liable for a delay claim.”

Taylor stopped.

I slowly replied. “When I look at the Time Span of your Goals, I also have to look at the Time Span of your decisions. The Time Span of Discretion.

Complexity and Uncertainty

“You know, that’s really the most difficult part,” Taylor explained. “I have to make decisions today that might not come into play for another year. I have to make decisions. I have to make commitments. Sometimes, I even have to gamble.”

“What makes it so difficult?” I asked.

“It’s the uncertainty of what might happen. It’s the uncertainty of the future. I mean, our projects are complex, you know, detail complex. But the real complexity comes from the uncertainty.”

Effectiveness and Decisions

“Your goal is to make it all happen according to your schedule?” I continued. “Sounds easy. Can’t you just make up a schedule and tell everyone they have to follow it?”

Taylor chuckled and shook his head. “I wish. No, my schedule has to meet the Contractor’s schedule and it has to mesh with all the sub-trades on the job. And most importantly, my schedule has to be tight enough to match the budget and man-hours in our original estimate. There are a thousand things that have to go right. By the way, we have 30 other projects that will happen during this same twenty two months.”

“So, let’s talk about the decisions that go along with your goal. Every role has decisions that must be made. That’s the work that must be done. Your effectiveness in managing this schedule depends on the decisions that you make. When I look at the Time Span of your Goals, I also look at the Time Span of your decisions, the Time Span of Discretion.” -TF

According to Schedule

“Tell me, what is your longest Time Span goal?” I asked.

Taylor sat across the conference table. He was in charge of project scheduling. At any given time, his company has 30-35 projects in play. Some of the projects only last 4-5 weeks. Others last 12-15 months. Yet, every project is important. No details can be dropped, no matter how small.

“What do you mean?” Taylor asked. “I mean, I work with a Project Management software. I spend time meeting with all the Project Managers, looking at their contracts, their change orders, the deadlines in their project segments.”

“What is your longest project?”

“The longest one, is the Phoenix project. We got the contract last week. I have already been looking at it for a couple of months though, ever since it came through our estimating department. It’s a big project and we had to see if we could even mobilize to do it. Twenty two months it will take.”

“And what is the Goal, what is your Goal?” I asked.

“At the end of the project, all of the materials showed at the job site, all the crews showed up to do the production. The equipment required, whether we own it, or rented it, was on-site. All the trades that we had to coordinate with, everything happened according to my schedule. That’s my goal.”

Judgment and Decision Making

The other day I checked to see how many posts I had tagged related to Time Span. The number was 153. Time Span, as a concept, comes from the most basic thing we do, as a company, the most fundamental thing we do, as managers. Time Span comes from Goal Setting.

What is a goal? Take all the ornaments off. A goal is a “what by when.” Often, we focus on the “what” and rarely pay much attention to the “by when.” But it is the “by when” of every goal that determines the Time Span.

Time Span is the length of time a person works into the future, without direction, using their own discretionary judgment to achieve a specific goal.

Three weeks ago, fifteen of you, began work in our online platform (www.workingleadership.com). The first Subject Area was Goal Setting and Time Span. The discussion now shifts its attention from the Goal to Discretionary Judgment.

In the pursuit of any goal, we have to make decisions. We make those decisions using our discretionary judgment. The Time Span of the Goal (the “by when”) has a direct relationship to the Time Span of Discretion.

An important discussion, for managers, surrounds the decisions that must be made to achieve a specific goal.

What is your most important goal? What are the decisions you have to make to achieve that goal?

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You can join the conversation at any time. We have 8 week subscriptions and annual subscriptions. Follow this link – www.workingleadership.com.

Work Harder, Not Smarter

“My team is now down to three people,” Marissa explained. ” I hope that was my last reduction in force. I don’t know how we are going to get everything done.”

“How are you going to get everything done?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I guess we will just have to work harder.”

“Work harder, not smarter, that’s the ticket,” I replied.

Marissa smiled and nodded. “You are right, our work volume is down. But when you lose people, there are some things you still have to do.”

“Do you? How are you going to get everything done?”

“I guess there are some things we are NOT going to do.”

“The first step to higher productivity is to eliminate things that are not necessary. How are you going to make that decision?”

What Should Be Rejected?

As of right now, the Big 3 bailout bill is stalled. It appeared for a moment yesterday that it might make it. World markets are reacting to this delay.

As we work our way through this recession, will some fundamentals about the auto industry be significantly different in another 18 months? Here is the biggest question. Will there be some fundamental changes in your industry, in your market during the next 18 months?

Your biggest challenge is not to get small and hunker down. Your biggest challenge will be to understand how your company will be significantly different. The decisions you make, will be different.

The world is looking at itself. It is looking at its largest industries and asking this question. Is the way these companies are organized to do business, something that should be preserved or something that should be rejected, to make way for something new?

How will you make those decisions for yourself? How is your company organized to do business? What should be preserved? What should be rejected to make way for something new?

Working Leadership Online is not another old, tired leadership program. Working Leadership Online is about you, leading in this new world. It starts in January with our first project assignment on February 2, 2009. To find out more, visit www.workingleadership.com.

Your Market Won’t Allow It

In the past few months, you made decisions you never thought you would make. And, you will have more problems to solve and more decisions to make. We are closer to the beginning of this recession than we are to the end.

This will be the test for management. Yet, I am calm about the decisions you will make. The market will not allow you to make bad decisions. There will be quick and irreversible punishment for bad decisions. Those who make bad decisions will not be around to tell their story.

But, the worst of your decisions are not made when times are bad. The worst of your decisions are made when times are good. It’s just that now, you may have to pay for those bad decisions.

Yesterday, we announced a new online program specifically designed to help management get through the next two years, to create a foundation to take advantage of the recovery (summer of 2010). This program will help managers solve problems and make decisions about your organization. The first project field work will be assigned February 2. If you want more information about this program, or how it works, you can follow this link, www.workingleadership.com, or email me directly.

Trial and Error?

“I don’t like to think about it,” Roselle explained, “but I keep thinking that maybe I’m the next one to get a pink slip.”

“I know, in these times, it is tempting for a company to save overhead costs, to lop off heavier management salaries. And some companies have no other choice,” I replied. “But in times like these, we will see more volatile change than normal, and there will be more management decisions to make in response to that change. Management decisions cannot be made without a manager.”

“I don’t know about that. I have seen some boneheaded people making decisions in my day.”

“Of course you have. Sometimes we leave the wrong decisions to the wrong people. Some people make decisions through trial and error (in front of the customer). Some people are able to tap into their experience, or the experience of other people to see if we have ever solved that problem before. But I have to tell you, some problems you see today, have NOT been solved before. Those problems will require analysis, to get to the root cause before a decision can be made. It is those problems and those decisions which require a competent manager.”

Not Sam’s Problem

“What has to happen in the next two hours that will indicate time well spent,” Sam asked. Each person looked around at each of the other members of this management team, then looked down and began to write.

It was not Sam’s intention to figure out the solution to this problem. It was Sam’s intention to have the group figure out the solution to this problem.

The responses from the team were positive.

  • We have to agree on the purpose. We have to agree on what we are trying to achieve. We have to agree on the goal.
  • We have to agree on what actions we will take. We have to agree on the coordination and interdependencies of those actions. This has to be a period of cooperation.
  • We have to agree on what results we are looking for. We have to agree on what measures we will collect and analyze. We have to agree to raise the flag when something doesn’t look right, not to bury our statistics in a warehouse.

Most importantly, this was no longer Sam’s problem. This problem now belonged to the group. -TF