Mike Barnato

I saw the new Disney film- The Prince of Persia. It’s great for action and adventure. But it’s also about a bad decision that has big consequences. Differing perspectives often disrupt decision making.

Here’s a simple structured approach that I have successfully applied with several clients.    

A = Aims.

What are you trying to achieve? How will you know if it’s achieved?

 B = Benefits.

What are potential rewards and risks, benefits and costs? Get real. Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief of staff, when Iraq was invaded, apparently told the Chilcott enquiry, that it was assumed that Iraq had WMD; there was no evidence.

 C = Criteria.

Agree some criteria against which to compare alternatives. Make sure that the practicalities of execution are included.

 D = Decide.

Decide how to decide. Whose decision is it? Avoid bias and self interest. Encourage challenging yet supportive behaviours.

E = Execution.

Think early about execution including timescales and difficulty. Great strategies that can’t be executed are delusions.

Jane Fonda has a clear perspective. She was quoted in the Sunday Times of 15 November 2009, on how to look good at 71. “I owe 30% to genes, 30% to good sex and 30% because of a healthy lifestyle. For the remaining 10% I have to thank my plastic surgeon.”