The NOLS decision-making framework led me down a rabbit hole and I ended up comparing decision-making in the outdoors/military versus corporate settings.
Indeed. Her substack is really good. Been reading for some time now.
Did you find any noticeable difference between the decision making in outdoor vs corporate setting? Apart from the usual 'chain of command' view, that is?
I noticed two deviations and both have to do with how the effect of time is different in outdoor vs boardroom. One, in the outdoors, information is unreliable. It may be accurate but only for a little while. The weather may turn, landscape may change, etc. In such situations when accuracy of information changes quickly (compared to a boardroom), directive-based decision-making is more common. You see that in the military as well. In a corporate setting, I think there's more scope to delegate and groom because information tends to be reliable for longer.
Two, Urgency is a parameter in the NOLs framework whereas Consequence and Reversibility are probably better parameters in corporate. You've written about Bezos' one-way/two-way doors as well. To make business decisions through the urgency lens could be confusing because so many things are urgent simultaneously. So many things have a positive ROI at the same time.
#1 is really good. I struggle a lot at finding this bias for speed. So felt it was talking to me directly. Plus the storytelling itself made it more interesting to read.
Thank you! I discovered Molly Graham today.
The NOLS decision-making framework led me down a rabbit hole and I ended up comparing decision-making in the outdoors/military versus corporate settings.
Indeed. Her substack is really good. Been reading for some time now.
Did you find any noticeable difference between the decision making in outdoor vs corporate setting? Apart from the usual 'chain of command' view, that is?
I noticed two deviations and both have to do with how the effect of time is different in outdoor vs boardroom. One, in the outdoors, information is unreliable. It may be accurate but only for a little while. The weather may turn, landscape may change, etc. In such situations when accuracy of information changes quickly (compared to a boardroom), directive-based decision-making is more common. You see that in the military as well. In a corporate setting, I think there's more scope to delegate and groom because information tends to be reliable for longer.
Two, Urgency is a parameter in the NOLs framework whereas Consequence and Reversibility are probably better parameters in corporate. You've written about Bezos' one-way/two-way doors as well. To make business decisions through the urgency lens could be confusing because so many things are urgent simultaneously. So many things have a positive ROI at the same time.
This is very useful. You've put the accuracy bit very well. Urgency, I sense, somehow follows the accuracy for the overall impact of the decision.
Loved #1 & #3!
#1 is really good. I struggle a lot at finding this bias for speed. So felt it was talking to me directly. Plus the storytelling itself made it more interesting to read.