decisions not decks

This week a colleague was describing his frustration with a project team.  The sponsor and team members are on revision 11 of a PowerPoint deck.  The content hasn’t changed significantly but the presentation continues to be refined.  It is filled with beautiful branding, elegant transitions and plenty of corporate lingo (e.g., decks – can’t we just say presentation?)  The funny thing is, the mantra at this company is “decisions, not decks.”  The organization wants to move beyond planning and marketing of ideas to actual decision-making.  A lot of time and talent has gone into creating the beauty of the product, but how much have participants actually learned about strategy, decision-making and implementation?  

I am a big fan of brand consistency and presentation, but at the end of the day, an organization actually has to make decisions.  Ideally, they will even act on those decisions!  Many of us spend too much time making presentations beautiful without questioning the direction we are headed.  How can we develop team members and future leaders if they are overly concerned with image over substance, or with internal influence over program impact?  How do we teach people to engage in constructive conflict in order to ultimately make the right decision for the organization?

While I don’t have all the answers, I would like to share with you a new opportunity to help your team engage in strategic planning, decision-making and building financial acumen.  On April 5th my colleagues and I are sponsoring a 1/2 day business simulation called Simdustry.  Additional details can be found here.  If you are interested in attending or learning more, please contact Roo or Richard Bents.

In the interim, I wish you and your organization success in moving beyond decks, to decisions, team development, and positive outcomes.