Strategic Decision-Making

Leadership teams face a continuous stream of decisions. Without a strategic framework, these decisions will be driven by the moment rather than the plan.

The Strategic Plan as a Decision Framework

Making decisions within a strategic framework benefits the organization by:

• Tying Decisions to Strategic Priorities

  Evaluating alternatives within your strategic framework ensures decisions are tied to your strategic priorities. Doing this consistently will improve your plan's outcome.

  
  

• Reinforcing Executive Alignment

  As we’ve explored earlier, alignment is key. Grounding executive team decisioning in the language of the strategic plan reinforces executive alignment.

  
  

• Standardizing the Decision-Making Process

  Weighing alternatives within your strategic framework standardizes the decision-making process, making it both consistent and efficient.

  
  

The Strategic Decision Filter

Practiced consistently, strategic decision-making will improve organizational performance. Use these three questions to evaluate every key decision:

1. Does the decision support your strategic priorities?

   The more decisions you make in support of your priorities, the higher the odds you will achieve your strategic goals.

   
   

2. Does the decision strengthen your competitive advantage?

   Within a commoditized banking market, you must nurture your organization’s differentiation. Will the decision strengthen your competitive position?

   
   

3. Did the decision emerge from debate?

   When the executive team debates strategic relevance, team cohesion increases and decisions get better.

   
   

Bottom Line

Organizations that consistently run decisions through a strategic filter reinforce alignment, make better decisions, and maximize strategic plan success.