Columbia Business School believes that many executives today do not know how to make decisions, especially quick ones made with only partial information.  R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia's business school, devised a solution to that issue by creating a new twist on the traditional case study approach to graduate studies--decision briefs that offer less information about a situation (BusinessWeek, Feb. 4, 2008).

Hubbard's approach is designed to prepare young managers to make decisions quickly based on imperfect information without the perfect narrative and clear facts that traditional case studies provide.  This approach makes a lot of sense since it mirrors the reality of the business environment.  It also supports two approaches to decision making that are prevelant today.

The first is the 80-20 rule.  If a program or decision can address and solve 80% of a problem, then move forward and execute.  Let your team make adjustments to handle the noncomforming 20%.  With today's fast-paced competitive environment, that 20% may never even come into play.

A second approach is espoused by Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and former Chariman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.  He used a decision equation called P=40 to 70 where P stands for the probablity of success.  He believes that once you have 40 to 70% of the information necessary to make a decision, go with your gut and move forward.  Excessive delays in the name of information gathering, he said, breeds "analysis paralysis."

Does your organization deftly make decisions and quickly execute them, or does it bury issues in committees and drag its collective foot trying to achieve 100% concensus?  Which approach makes your organization more competitive?

For more insights into decision making, our first book, Positioning Success, can help you understand how your organization operates in this area.