How Are Really Great Decisions Actually Made?

An April 2012 article in Forbes raises a number of questions about recent judgment calls. For example, “Who cannot be troubled at the lack of judgment in business schools that continue to instill the principles of traditional management when the very principles they are teaching are killing the institutions they are meant to assist.” And, “Who can watch with anything but disbelief as most large corporations continue to espouse maximizing shareholder value as their goal, when there is overwhelming evidence that it is the dumbest idea in the world.” It is hard not to conclude that judgment has fled to brutish beasts and men have lost their reason.

A new book on Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right by Thomas H. Davenport and Brook Manville (2012, Harvard, Business Review Press) contains twelve diverse parables of instances where good judgment was exercised and an organization “got it right.” One of the advantages of the book is that it is written in a narrative style. In each case, a careful reading of the story points to the wider set of factors that are involved in making the decision. What the narratives bring out is that judgment is important but so is having the right goals, having the right values, and having good leaders.

For a thought-provoking overview of the book, read the article “How Are Really Great Decisions Actually Made?” at Forbes online.