Leadership Tip #11: Driving safely on a foggy day: Decision making in uncertain times

Brought to you by Raytheon Professional Services
By Bill Russell, Raytheon Professional Services

With the rapid change of pace of business, it is more important than ever to be as informed as possible before making critical decisions. In our current economic environment, this is becoming an essential skill. Based on research and interviews with top industry leaders, we found that while they agree that their information systems have helped achieve many things, they have not cleared away the fog from the future; they have not improved their ability to forecast. These leaders say there are three critical success factors in making informed decisions:

1. Analytical Skills
   The first step is to find the vital few pieces of information hidden in the masses of trivial data. This requires business analytics employed by skilled analysts, assisted by subject matter experts who know how the business operates.
2. A Collaborative Environment
   Once the analysts have identified some potentially important new pieces of information, the second step is for the broader team to discuss these new facts and determine how this information changes our understanding of the business. The key to success in this step is a collaborative culture in which each team member feels safe and free to discuss their thoughts openly.
3. Courageous Leadership
   The final step is for the leader to drive the group to alignment on a course of action. The leader must first ensure that each team member has understood the new information and has a chance to be heard. The leader thus serves first as a facilitator and then as a courageous leader who is accountable to the group for the reasons for their decision.

Using this process, a team can quickly assimilate new information and come to alignment on the right course of action. Companies that execute this process well gain a competitive advantage that can mean the difference between success and failure.

Leadership Tip #4: The importance of leadership to innovation

Brought to you by Pinstripe

Innovation has to come from the leadership. If a CEO preaches and promotes a culture of innovation, the employees will follow their lead. But to effectively build innovation into your organization, you must reward new ideas, client service approaches, product development, technology, and then accept the risk, failures and challenges that sometimes come with them. Equally important to the CEO and top leadership fostering innovation, middle managers must relish it and not be threatened by it. And when something fails, celebrate the failure! Microsoft and Apple have done a great job at this. HR is vitally important to encouraging innovation. HR leaders can:

• Reinforce the organization's innovative intent
• Establish clear metrics and measures for innovation
• Create effective incentives and rewards for innovating; and
• Provide the necessary resources and tools to help employees innovate more successfully such as

1. developing programs for cross-pollination (different functional teams within your organization coming together to solve problems);
2. making available to the employees external influences they can tap into, such as boards, industry experts, customers, and associations; and
3. implementing training systems that allow companies to get extraordinary results from even their more ordinary employees.