A growing number of major companies are following the lead of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google to set aggressive targets for achieving net zero carbon emissions in their businesses. To hit those commitments, companies need to make important decisions about where to focus the time, energy, and money they have to invest in sustainability. It may […]
Good Decisions Can’t Be Scored
Why Numbers Lead You Astray in Your
Most Important Decisions
When my partner and I were driving through the Luxembourg countryside, we enjoyed the beautiful sights: scenic mountains with hilltop castles and lush forests. As night began to fall, the fog descended. At first, it was beautiful. Then visibility became more and more restricted. Relaxation turned into apprehension as we realized the increasing danger on […]
Too Many Key Decisions or Knowledge Gaps?
Find Your NUDs to Find Your Focus
In the last two years, my thinking about Key Decisions has changed. I used to think that teams needed to address all their high impact / high unknown Key Decisions and that teams could be trusted to come up with the right ones within a few cycles of replanning, even if they struggled during the integration […]
The Power of Purpose
Why Purpose Statements Bring Key Decisions and Knowledge Gaps Into Focus
In 2018, a paying passenger was dragged off of a United flight by law enforcement officers because United needed the seat to reposition crew members so that they’d be in place to start the next day. The passenger was injured in the incident, which was captured and shared on social media, creating a public relations […]
Close Knowledge Gaps Scientifically and Permanently with Design-Experiment-Capture Loops
When we’re in the midst of development, especially if we are hot on the trail of a new idea, we can easily lose sight of the rhythm of the entire program in the search for solutions to individual development challenges. Even if the team is using Agile program management methods for frequent check-ins, they can still lose sight of the big picture if they are focused on their activities instead of focusing on what they need to learn. This is why we emphasize the need to close Knowledge Gaps systematically and permanently