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Chapter 6: Effective Decision Making
This page includes links to videos and articles featuring managers from different parts of the world. You can use these materials to gain insight into how practicing managers think about the topics that are discussed in Effective Management: Developing Yourself, Others and Organizations . Please note that these are external weblinks, which means that their content is not under the control of the book author and publisher. If you do come across a broken link, please contact us at: web.editor@macmillaneducation.com.
Meet the managers from the “CEO best practice” boxes …
| Eric E. Schmidt, former CEO of Google (USA) | ||||
 | Video link: https://youtu.be/COh2bBjoFpQ [sequence 26:43-30:51] In this video sequence, Eric Schmidt explains what he learned from his coach Bill Campbell about effective group decision-making processes. Reflection and discussion questions: - What is the advantage of the group decision-making process that Schmidt outlines in the video over what he calls “consensus management”? - Eric Schmidt also talks about the importance for teams to have a coach. How could a coach (or a manager with a coaching attitude) help a team to make better decisions? | |||
 | Article link: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/why-eric-schmidt-focuses-individuals-good-team This article summarizes a speech that Eric Schmidt gave at the MIT Leadership Center in 2019 about his leadership and decision-making approach. Reflection and discussion questions: - Schmidt highlights the importance for leaders to make people in their team feel valued. How is that connected to effective decision making? - Why does Schmidt prefer larger meetings with a lot of people? What is the potential impact of the number of people involved in a decision-making process on the quality of the outcome of the decision? | |||
| Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com (USA) | ||||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/kfY3uRCvEMo [2:29 minutes] In this short video, Jeff Bezos explains the rationale behind some of the practices that he uses to make better decisions. Reflection and discussion questions: - What is the role of sleep and choosing the right time of the day for making better decisions? - Bezos talks about the need to make three good decisions a day. What could he do to ensure that these three decisions are of a high quality? | |||
| | This article provides further insights into how Jeff Bezos makes decisions in a fast-changing business environment. Reflection and discussion questions: - How does decision making in a rapidly changing environment differ from decision making in a very stable environment? - Why did Bezos decide to forbid PowerPoint presentations as a basis for decision making? Do you agree that this was a good decision? | |||
… and meet a few other managers, too
| Murray Jordan, former Managing Director of Foodstuffs North Island (New Zealand) | ||||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/szCkA32wEnk [02:04 minutes] In this video, Murray Jordan, a former Managing Director at Foodstuffs (a food cooperative and the largest grocery distributor in New Zealand) explains how shared values influenced the decision-making process in his organization. Reflection and discussion questions: - What role can organizational values play in a manager’s decision-making process? - How can managers ensure that decisions that are taken within their organization are in line with the values of the organization? | |||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/dqZoAANOKVk [03:34 minutes] In this video, Murray Jordan reports on the different ways in which the top management at Foodstuffs tried to involve employees in the innovation process. Reflection and discussion question: - How can employee involvement potentially help improve the quality of managerial decisions in innovation processes and beyond? | |||
| Huda Idrees, founder and CEO of Dot Health (Canada) | ||||
| | Video link: https://youtu.be/SpvY4YJPcOI [06:40 minutes] In this video, Huda Idrees, founder and CEO of a Canadian start-up company in the personal health business, reflects on the impact of major job decisions that she has made over the course of her life. Reflection and discussion questions: - Idrees talks about being scared of making the wrong decisions. What does she mean by this? What makes some decisions “scary”? - What does “embracing of the uncertain” mean in a decision-making context? When could it make sense for managers to “embrace the uncertain” when they are making decisions? | |||
