Ronald Howard of Stanford defines DA as “the discipline comprising the philosophy, theory, methodology, and professional practice to formalize the analysis of important decisions.”ĭecision Quality (DQ). Having emerged as a field of practice in 1964, DA was a relatively new concept when SDG was founded. The name of the new enterprise: Strategic Decisions Group.īuilding on Decision Analysis (DA). In 1981, a team of scientists, engineers, academics and business professionals set out to create a new kind of management consulting firm-one that would harness the power of Decision Analysis to help organizations choose the best course of action in the face of uncertainty, daunting complexity, confused preferences, and interrelated variables. Having reached this stage, the organization will sustain its commitment to DQ even through changes in leadership. The full decision making community understands and uses DQ and has adopted the language and culture of DQ in collaborative value creation.ĭQ is in the organization’s DNA. Regular application of DQ for key decision makers in specific departments and business units. Periodic application of DQ to specific opportunities and decision problems. That said, organizations tend to progress along a similar path as they evolve toward full and sustained integration of ODQ: 1: Project DQ
Finally, documented DQ is the best defense for a board or CEO, especially when a bad outcome occurs and there is an attempt to blame the decision makers who took an attractive, calculated risk using sound decision-making models.
Indeed, the incremental cost of applying DQ best practices, tools and frameworks has been shown to represent a small fraction of the savings realized by avoiding bad decisions-or improving mediocre ones.
No less important, DQ can enhance shareholder value and yield astronomical returns on investment. Equal parts art and science, DQ can drive superior performance in such critical areas as resource allocation, organizational development, risk management, corporate strategy, and business growth. But in those industries where uncertainty is the norm, managers must routinely make big bets ahead of the curve: Where to invest which new markets to explore when to launch a new product.Īt the heart of SDG’s service offering is decision quality (DQ), a practical methodology that improves strategic decisions and enables immediate assessment of their value potential-not just in hindsight at some future point. Improving decisions and how they’re made. Believing faulty decisions to be sound, management may leave enormous value on the table and miss significant growth opportunities. More often than not, however, key decisions are clouded by changing assumptions, endless debate, or ill-defined goals. Businesses thrive or fail on the strength of the decisions they make.