Solution to the lack of decision-making
Summary of the business problem
The business problem of decision-making arises when organizations have difficulty making decisions quickly, with the right information and with clear accountability. The symptoms include:
- Many meetings without decisions.
- Decisions that need to be reviewed.
- Unclear mandates.
- Inadequate decision-making basis.
- Difficulties in translating decisions into action.
- Long lead times from an identified problem to a completed action.
Zero point
Decisions are made irregularly, with varying quality and often without a clear link to strategic goals. Responsibility and mandates are unclear, leading to escalating issues to the management group and unnecessary burden on senior executives.
Desired location
The organization should be able to:
- Make faster decisions.
- Ensure high quality in decision-making materials.
- Have clear mandates and responsibilities.
- Be able to follow up decisions systematically.
- Turning decisions into measurable results.
Basic causes
Basically, there are crucial reasons and underlying factors for the decision-making process to be slow:
| Primary cause | Consequence |
| Unclear mandates | Decisions are escalated unnecessarily |
| Missing decision-making processes | Varied quality and lead time |
| Inadequate decision-making basis | Incorrect or delayed decisions |
| Fragmented information | Contradictory facts |
| Organizational silos | Local optimizations and conflicts |
| Overloaded management | Strategic issues are prioritized away |
Knowledge areas that are required or need to be utilized
Primary areas of knowledge
- Governance – To define mandates, decision-making levels and responsibilities.
- Strategy implementation – To ensure that decisions support the organization’s goals.
- Leadership team development – To create effective decision-making forums and reduce the workload associated with meetings.
- Change management – To introduce new decision-making processes and working methods.
- Process development – To standardize and streamline decision-making processes.
- Data and information management – To create reliable decision-making material and a common picture of the operations.
Additional recommended areas of knowledge
- Enterprise Architecture
- Performance Management
- Risk Management
- Business Intelligence
- AI-based decision support
- Organizational design
These areas strengthen the organization's ability to make data-driven and scalable decisions.
Short-term change plan
Goals (0-6 months)
Create order, transparency and clear mandates.
Action 1: Map out all decision-making forums
Document:
- Which forums exist.
- What decisions are made.
- Who will participate.
- How often the forums meet.
Results:
- Identification of duplications.
- Identification of bottlenecks.
Action 2: Establishing a decision hierarchy
Examples:
| Type of decision | Responsible |
| Operational | Line manager |
| Tactical | Chief of Operations |
| Strategic | Management team |
| Business-critical | CEO/Board of Directors |
The goal is to reduce the number of issues escalated to the management team.
Action 3: Standardize decision-making materials
Each decision must contain:
- Problem formulation.
- Alternative.
- Impact analysis.
- Risk assessment.
- Recommendation.
- Responsible for implementation.
- Follow-up date.
Action 4: Decision log
In preparation for the central follow-up of:
- Decisions.
- Owner.
- Deadline.
- Status.
Appropriate tools:
- Microsoft Planner
- Microsoft Lists
- Jira
- ServiceNow
Action 5: Establish a Chief of Staff function or equivalent
Chief of Staff can:
- Quality-assured decision-making materials.
- Coordinate the management team.
- Follow up on decisions.
- Drive priorities.
Long-term change plan
Target image (6-36 months)
The organization develops professional decision-making where:
- Mandates are clear.
- The data is reliable.
- Decisions are followed up systematically.
- Strategic issues are prioritized.
- The management team works forward-looking.
Architectural design
Level 1: Strategic management
Responsibility:
- CEO
- Management team
- Board of Directors
Focus:
- Priorities
- Investments
- Risks
- Transformation
Level 2: Decision-making
Responsibility:
- Chief of Staff
- PMO
- Controller function
- HR Business Partner
Focus:
- Analysis
- Impact assessment
- Priority
Level 3: Implementation
Responsibility:
- Business managers
- Product owner
- Programmers
Focus:
- Delivery
- Effect follow-up
Key figures
Proposed KPIs:
| KPI | Goal value |
| Decision-making time | -50 % |
| Share of decisions with complete documentation | >95 % |
| Share of completed decisions | >90 % |
| Share of decisions requiring reconsideration | <10 % |
| Time for strategic issues in the management team | >60 % |
Responsibility and Drive (RACI)
| Activity | CEO | Chief of Staff | Management team | Managers | PMO |
| Define the decision model | A | R | C | I | C |
| Mapping the current forum | I | A/R | C | C | C |
| Introducing the decision board | I | A/R | C | C | C |
| Mandate structure | A | R | C | C | I |
| Decision log | I | A/R | I | C | R |
| Follow-up of decisions | C | A/R | C | R | R |
| Effect measurement | A | R | C | C | R |
| Improvement work | C | A/R | C | R | R |
A = Accountable R = Responsible C = Consulted I = Informed
Need for consultants
Recommended
- Governance specialist
Purpose: Design the mandate model and decision structure.
Action: 4-8 weeks.
- Organizational development consultant
Purpose: Streamline the working methods of the management team.
Action: 3-6 months.
- Data Governance consultant
Purpose: Improve the quality of decision-making materials through common data definitions.
Action: 2-6 months.
- PMO/Transformation Expert
Purpose: Ensure follow-up of decisions and strategic initiatives.
Action: 6-12 months.
When consulting is not needed
If the organization already has:
- Experienced Chief of Staff.
- Established PMO.
- A lot of operational management work.
then the work should primarily be driven internally to maximize knowledge transfer.
Summary and short action plan
| Action | Responsible | Time horizon | Expected result |
| Map out decision-making forums | Chief of Staff | 30 days | Identified bottlenecks |
| Establishing the voting matrix | CEO | 60 days | Fewer escalations |
| Ahead of the decision | Chief of Staff | 60 days | Higher decision quality |
| Ahead of the decision log | PMO | 90 days | Increased follow-up |
| Measure decision-making time | Controller/PMO | 90 days | Fact-based improvement |
| Reorganize management meetings | CEO + Chief of Staff | 120 days | More strategic focus |
| Create a permanent governance model | Management team | 6-12 months | Sustainable decision-making process |
Conclusion
The business problem is fundamentally not about a lack of skills but about a lack of structured decision-making. The evidence points to the need for organizations to have clearer mandates, standardized decision-making processes, better information management, and a function that coordinates the work of management. A Chief of Staff or a corresponding strategic coordination function is particularly well positioned to solve these problems by creating structure between strategy, decision-making, and implementation.
Go to business problems ”Decision-making”->
