Decision Expertise
Decisions drive the future of your enterprise
Researchers estimate that the average adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. As your level of responsibility increases, so does the multitude of choices you have to make. Each decision potentially carries consequences that will define the future. The quality of those decisions determines whether your future will be bright, or not.
A clear framework to drive decision making from impulsiveness towards balance and reflection is crucial to realize strategic intent. People utilize a combination of decision-making strategies to cope with the sheer volume of decisions that must be made. We often rely on the easiest, simplest, and most comfortable solutions at the expense of more robust and positive outcomes. Too often, we only recognize the cost of poor decisions when paying the price of handling the problems they cause.
A simple structure for making better balanced choices
Making the subjective as objective as possible
By using a consistent framework for evaluating possible alternatives we free ourselves up to focus on the intended benefits without the stress associated with implications of implementation. By first weighing the factors involved, and then using the information to render the best decision at that point in time, yields better results and stronger outcomes.
Unlocking the power of collaboration
When decisions are made without negotiating the conflicting needs and wants of all the members of a team, chaos reigns. Help people work more effectively and commit to the shared responsibility of making decisions that determine the future of your organization.
Leveraging the power of delegation
Senior leaders often struggle with knowing what would be helpful to delegate, how to delegate decisions and not just tasks, and what decisions would serve as learning and growth opportunities for their direct reports. To leverage the intellectual horsepower of your staff you must master the art of delegation.
Tackling the hazards of decision ownership
Much of the conflict around poor decision making in an enterprise arises from lack of clarity about who owns the decision. Accountability drives decision making effectiveness. Being accountable also inspires and enables ownership. Knowing which decision belongs where and to whom will improve the speed.
Case Studies Section
-
$11M
saved in the first year
60%
improvement in on-time performance
50%
reduction in admin workload
Challenges
Kennecott Utah Copper operates the Bingham canyon mine concentrator plant, a smelter and a refinery. Ore from this mine is concentrated into slurry, piped to where the smelting process occurs, and then sent to the refinery. Efficient operation at the concentrator stage is critical to maintaining uptime of the smelter. Each year the concentrator plant is shut down a total of 36 times. This is necessary to maintain critical equipment while essential repairs and upgrades are completed. The issue at Bingham was that the length of downtime was causing a bottleneck in the overall process.
Read Case StudyResults
The shutdown process saved over $11 million in the first year of implementation. On-time performance improved by 60% and is tracking towards world-class results. key performance Indicators (KPls) for shutdown performance improved over all prior years. Team performance (on-scope, on-cost) improved by 60%. Shutdown administrative work load fell by over 50% allowing team members to focus on other areas such as reducing cost or generating more revenue. All Injury Frequency Rate (AIFR) improved, advancing a strong safety culture which is a core value of KUCC.
-
47%
improvement in operational efficiency
30%
improvement in production rate
50%
reduction in change over time
Challenges
After a major capital investment at its biscuit factory at Papakura, Griffin’s needed to address several variables impacting overall conversion cost. The site was struggling with high waste, high downtime, and planning deficiencies; and overall workflow was not conducive to producing at the lowest possible conversion cost.
Read Case StudyResults
For overall results, Operational Efficiency (OE), the measure of line performance relative to a theoretical maximum achievable throughput rate, was used to measure success. To achieve an OE of 100%, the line must run at its maximum theoretical throughput rate with zero plant downtime and product waste. At the conclusion of the Kepner-Tregoe engagement the plant achieved:
-
€4.5M
decrease in spin-off costs
70%
non-conformity reduction in 3 years in specific departments
Challenges
Fokker wanted to increase their issue resolution maturity. This meant improving the quality and completeness of information about problems, accelerating root cause analysis and involving the right people at the right time.
Read Case StudyResults
Success has been measured in a drastic reduction in non-conformities which is saving millions of euros yearly. A proactive culture has replaced the “fire-fighting” of reactive problem solving.