Both Sides Now! How to Make Better Decisions

They defeat themselvesThree common symptoms of SDD or amp8216selfdefeat diseaseamp8221 area the inability to anticipate new competitionb a failure to see situation from another perspectivec self delusion due to a bubble of filtered thinking buttressed by sycophantic deputiesOne simple exercise to avoid this fate is to make it a point to see or demand to be shown or insist on trying other options and approaches opposite to ones recommendedTo always insist on both sides nowThree simple exercises one can apply every time a key decision needs to be made are 1 to integrate outsider perspectives 2 to unite two diametrically different models and 3 to balance roots and wingsThink Like an OutsiderImmigrantEarlier this week a long time friend of mine Lou Paskalis was in Chicago During a drive I shared some key themes from a keynote I had given earlier in the week to a legendary company aiming to be bolder to ensure their continued leadership in a changing worldOne key point I conveyed was the importance to look at things from an outsideramp8217s perspective or that of an immigrantWhile not all of us are immigrants to a country we are always entering new companies new jobs new cities and when we arrive we come without the baggage of knowing and the wonder of fresh eyes and thinking We wonder why certain things are the way they are and our acts of noticing and curiosity are acute This allows us to bring in fresh perspectives It is one of the reasons successful firms combine experienced individuals with long tenure with new external talentLou mentioned that one of his bosses at American Express the legendary John Hayes had given him similar advice when Lou had just been hired by saying amp8220Lou do not become one of usamp8221It is important that individuals while they respect and align with a culture of a firm do not get assimilated by the Borg Star TrekIf one like the Mandalorian and begins to believe amp8220This is the Wayamp8221 we will be beaten by the Lawrence of Arabiaamp8217s who say amp8220Nothing is writtenamp8221Combine an insiders understanding with the provocative thinking of an outsiderBoth sides nowOnly the Schizophrenic ThriveAndy Grove the late CEO of Intel once wrote a book titles amp8220Only the Paranoid Surviveamp8221Today we are living in a connected and constantly shape shifting world and paranoia is a recipe for decline as Intel has suffered fromOne cannot succeed without collaboration partnering and trusted relationshipsSeeing all outsiders as the enemy to be resisted or defeated is a recipe for irrelevanceMicrosoft under Balmer followed this amp8220Windows good everything else badamp8221 paranoia approach and it took a partnering oriented amp8220Linux is also criticalamp8221 and it is amp8220Azure no longer Windowsamp8221 Satya Nadella to turbocharge MicrosoftCompanies need to optimize for today AND reimagine for tomorrow sometimes with different teams with different incentives and goals to ensure continued relevanceThe biggest mistake is to somewhat focus on today with a leadership team incentivized for today while running amp8220task forcesamp8221 and amp8220models 20amp8221 as a side project with a diluted focus on tomorrow a second class team with a limited budget and constraints told not to rock the boat or destroy the existing business modelThese optimize neither today or tomorrow but create a warm goo of board documents and sinecures for people the company does not know what to do with notice how many tomorrow projects are run by individuals who did not do a good job running today Instead empower some real superstar talent with real budgets and minimal constraints to do what it takes to win tomorrow or put todayamp8217s firm out of business while also having world class teams focused on delivering the margins and leadership needed today to fund tomorrowTwo models acutely focused The first on today and one on tomorrow both reporting to the Board and CEOBoth sides now Roots and WingsIf every individual and company is a story with a place we came from every individual and a firm is also about a place we are going toThe best leaders and firms all integrate the dualities of roots and wingsToo rooted and we may wither way as changing times and climate bring drought to the place and way we wereToo winged and we may be blown away in the gusts of changeToo rooted and we may be seen as old school hide bound to tradition and inflexibleToo ready to fly with change may find us painted as unreliable undisciplined and shortterm orientedTransformation is twisting ourselves and companies into new shapes with the clay of what we were and new skills and pieces we acquireTo believe and better understand where you are going people want to know from where you are comingHeritage provenance legacy story first principles and foundations are all criticalSo are reinvention setting sail taking risks pioneering and reimaginingRoots and wingsBoth sides nowPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Both Sides Now! How to Make Better Decisions

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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