{"id":2953,"date":"2022-11-02T07:42:22","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T06:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eozurich.ch\/?p=2953"},"modified":"2022-11-02T07:42:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T06:42:23","slug":"entscheidungsfindung-wer-hat-das-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eozurich.ch\/en\/entscheidungsfindung-wer-hat-das-e\/","title":{"rendered":"Decision-Making: Who Has the Authority?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some time ago, I accompanied the leadership team of a Swiss industrial company during its quarterly meeting. In the afternoon, a lively discussion ensued about an Issue<\/em><\/a>. Initially, all five team members participated in the debate, but as minutes passed, interest waned, and eventually, only two people were actively exchanging points. I interrupted with the question: \u201cWho has the E?\u201d Ten eyes looked at me questioningly. \u201cWhich E\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swift implementation is required<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every success (and failure), every opportunity seized (or missed) results from decisions made (or not made).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To outperform the competition, a company must be more efficient in implementation than its rivals. Rarely do unique selling points allow a company to rest on its laurels. The vast majority of companies must instead prevail through better implementation. And to be faster and more effective, efficient decision-making is required. Hence, E stands for decision. However, in many companies, there is no clarity on who decides and how decisions are made. Too often, issues are escalated to the top, becoming bottlenecks. And not always are the best decisions made with long decision-making paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can conduct the following test with your team: Write down a series of questions, such as: Who decides in the company\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026on the pricing of products?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026whether to hire someone in area X?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026on process xyz?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026what color the website should be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026whether a new location should be opened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

etc…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask these questions to different people in the company. Most likely, you will get vague or different answers, or the boss is mentioned too often. It shouldn't be like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To clarify who has the E, I recommend three steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 \u2013 Organizational Chart of Responsibilities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To know who decides, it must be clear, in black and white, who has which responsibilities in the company. To prevent endless discussions, as in the example above, first have a fundamental debate about who is responsible for what, i.e., who has the E. The most effective way to clarify this is by creating the company's organizational chart of responsibilities. Here's the essence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with the leadership team. Sit down with your three to seven key people and define the ideal structure. Structure first, then people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t just document the current status quo, but look 6 to 12 months ahead. What functions need to be present in the leadership team? Typically, these are three to seven functions (sales, marketing, operations, finance, HR, IT, etc.). Keep it simple, less is more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n