What Decision Are You Avoiding?

A transformation programme rarely stops because nobody knows there is a problem.

It stops because an important decision remains unresolved.

The steering committee reviews the status.

The programme reports amber.

The issue gets escalated.

Another meeting is scheduled.

The decision still does not get made.

Ask a different question:

What decision are we avoiding?

Then make the decision visible.

1. 01What decision is required?
2. 02What options are available?
3. 03What do we recommend?
4. 04What are the consequences of each option?
5. 05Who owns the decision?
6. 06When must the decision be made?

Also ask:

What evidence would change our recommendation?

This matters because transformation decisions are rarely permanent.

Assumptions change.

Dependencies change.

Evidence changes.

The ability to reverse course therefore matters.

A useful governance forum does not exist to confirm that the programme is moving.

It exists to ensure the programme is moving in the right direction.

If the committee keeps reviewing the same issue without making a decision, the problem is not reporting. It is governance.