Our Future Depends on the Quality of Decisions

Hundreds of emails every day are cluttering our inboxes, 24 hour news cycles, a constant flow of social media updates and smartphones always at hand. The information overload is paired with megatrends such as globalized competition, disruptive technologies and new threats in the form of cyber-attacks, fake news and more. I`m sure we can agree that our decisions are influenced from left, right and centre, and that decision-making is in fact hard.

Bad decisions – big consequences

In this day and age, it should be no surprise that bad decisions are as common as good decisions. When McKinsey surveyed 2207 senior executives, 72 per cent of respondents said they thought bad strategic decisions were about as frequent as good ones or were the prevailing norm in their organisation. Can you imagine the impact this can have on crucial areas such as growth, revenue and culture, not to mention the very future of the company?

History is full examples of bad business decisions. I’m sure you have heard of many. One example is Kodak, which actually had the inventor of the first digital camera on its payroll but decided not to continue developing it.

Another example is the former video rental giant Blockbuster. The board and management at Blockbuster were failing to see how the industry was shifting, first when Netflix disrupted the market by launching its DVD-by-mail business, and later on, as Netflix moved on to streaming. It does not stop there; did you know that Blockbuster early on had the opportunity to buy Netflix but decided against it?

Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010, while Netflix’s estimated value today is $159.57B, which is more than 10 times what Blockbuster was worth at its peak.

While we are on the topic of mergers and acquisitions, deciding to buy another company is not always a smart decision. According to Harvard Business Review, the failure rate for M&A sits between 70 per cent and 90 per cent. You should do your due diligence thoroughly and make sure you’re get these decisions right.

How do we facilitate good decisions?

So, how exactly can companies increase the speed of decision-making and the quality of their decisions?

When it comes to making good decisions, there are many factors that come into play. Much is, of course, depending on the quality of the decision maker(s), that they are able to analyze, reflect and adapt. It is also about timing, guts and sometimes luck.

And not to forget, the ability to act. Having the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively is a trait many successful decision makers have in common. Research from Harvard Business Review finds that people who were described as “decisive” were 12 times more likely to be high-performing CEOs.

Some even go as far as to say that it’s better to make a decision, good or bad, than not to make a decision. “Fail fast” has become a mantra in the startup-world.

Ultimately it is about information at hand. At Admincontrol we believe that good decision making is all about accessing the right information at the right time.

«Crazy about decision-making»

At Admincontrol we are passionate about decision-making. It is in our DNA, it is at the core of our company. Our philosophy is simple: if what we do doesn’t enhance the moment of a decision, we don’t do it. Because we believe that our future depends on the quality of decisions and our ambition is to be a world-class enabler of decision-making. We offer a smart and secure collaboration platform for boards, management and other key stakeholders, where they can access, share, discuss and process information efficiently.

Have you made any good decisions lately?