nerdleader

Last week we reviewed three highly effective decision cycles – Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA); Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC); and Observe, Orient, Decide, Act (OODA). Let us take them apart and put them back together again to build our own understanding of making data-oriented decisions.

For starters, how can we answer the questions

• What data should be gathered?
• What should you make of the data?

Being aware of one’s current environment and situation is crucial, so you should always start with Observing and being mindful of the operating environment you are in. For PDCA and DMAIC there is an issue/opportunity you are already aware of (aka you have some data to start with), and it is time to begin doing something about it. But the world changes ever so quickly, and as time passes it makes Observing ever more important. The data you are gathering, and will need to gather, will be situationally dependent and will change over time, and you must give yourself permission to pause, reflect, and change as well. For example, a few decades ago counting “lines of code” was crucial for determining developer productivity. Now we know that some of the most effective developers are not just concise, but they figure out how to simplify and reduce technology / conceptual burden, and we have changed what data we gather. If you are still at a loss, perhaps perform some ground-floor environmental analyses such as SWOT or 5 Forces.

What should you then make of the data? When you are Planning, Analyzing or Orienting, you must use your experiences and worldview to make sense of the inputs you are receiving. This is challenging, but is the core of executive decision making, and is at the heart of why we need our teams and why we should surround ourselves with people who are more intelligent than us. Socialize the results of the data you have been provided and allow people to support you with their analyses. But, remember to be smart and use your gut when you need to effectively Decide how to Act.

How then should you Act, Check, and Control? Before taking the first step, ensure that you have a fully conceptualized Plan on how to Check that you are being successful. Know what your KPIs are going to be and ensure that you can Measure them effectively. And when it is time to Act, do so decisively. You invested time Observing, collecting and Analyzing data, and you would do yourself and your organization a disservice by not executing with your whole intention. Of course, continue to pay attention to those KPIs, and give yourself permission to “fail quickly” or “pivot”, as the situation (and DATA) deems appropriate.

In the end, we have a 5-step framework we can follow to gather data, analyze evidence, make a decision, act, and review:

1. Observe – be mindful of current conditions and gather relevant data
2. Analyze / Orient / Plan – use your experience and wisdom to make sense of the world
3. Define / Decide – pick a destination, direction, and route
4. Act– make the journey
5. Check / Control – review how well you acted

OADAC – let us see if it catches on. It combines the importance of knowing one’s current environment with the permission to use time and one’s experience to make sense of that environment. You must then decide on how to act / journey, do the important work of improvement / creation, and check on how you did so you can feed that data back into your Observe step. By being more planful and mindful, your decisions can come from a place of truth, and you will have defined what success looks like so you can know when you have gotten there.