The merit of a decision must NEVER be weighed based on the outcome...
The merit of a decision must never be weighed based on the outcome. I’m paraphrasing slightly but I was listening to “The Business of Machining” podcast with John Saunders and John Grimsmo on my drive home from work the other day. Great podcast if you have not listened to it yet (find it online here)… But yeah, this was a big nugget to chew on that Saunders dropped in my lap.
I've been in catch-up mode listening to the "BoM" because the Johns were 150+ episodes in when I started listening. But I made good time considering I was able to condense almost 3 years of podcast into a month of my daily commute. Anyway, I don't remember the exact episode where they were talking about this so think of it as an Easter egg hunt; listen to all the episodes till you find it, you won't be sorry.
All too often, especially in business, people tend to focus purely on results. “This product was a flop and someone needs to take the blame”. Well yes, that may be the case but only if decisions were made that weren’t appropriate to the situation. Everything we do in life has context because the decision is made in the moment. It doesn’t matter how much planning or research goes into the preparation. The mental act of making a decision is quite binary in nature and only takes a split second to pick one side of the coin or the other.
“Now, wait a minute Steve. What if there is a third, or fourth option for my particular scenario?” I say no, it simply doesn’t work that way. Every brain tickle, every action you perform can be thought of as a sort of micro-transaction with yourself or with the people affected by your decision. And opportunity cost plays a huge role whether you know it or not. Take the example of a machine shop owner looking at the possibility of adding a new spindle to their shop. They’ve been to a trade show or two and narrowed the short list of candidate machines to three options. There is a distinct possibility that the shop owner could purchase any one of the machines on their list or we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But who’s to say they don’t purchase more than one??? At that point each machine is a little or a lot different from the next which means it serves a different purpose, or operates in a different way. The argument could be made that this shop owner isn’t actually staring at three outcomes of a single decision but he/she is in fact looking at three separate and unique decisions with unique consequences. The best business men and women of this world are experts at understanding how to maximize their returns on expended opportunity cost in a very case specific manner. Let’s circle the wagons for a minute and camp on this.
The merit of a decision must never be weighed based on the outcome.
Machine A:
Buy - Don't Buy
Machine B:
Buy - Don't Buy
Machine C:
Buy - Don't Buy
Decisions, in their own right, create this sort of snapshot in your brain of all the stimuli acting in your ecosystem at the time. Most decisions seem pretty innocuous in the grand scheme of things and our brains have evolved over time to discard these snapshots that are unimportant and would simply take up space. Occasionally though, you have the opportunity to make a decision that in that instant, your brain deems important enough to store for later recall. And these can become some of your strongest memories. Reminiscing can bring back a flood of emotions, sights, sounds, even smells. Your brain can literally transplant you back in time and recreate everything that led up to that decision.
If we are not going to judge the quality of our decisions and actions on the outcome, then we have no choice but to look at the other end of the spectrum. What was the impetus for this decision? Consider everything that was going on at the time with work, your personal life, your business if you own/operate one, even your mood that day because it plays a part too. I would argue that decisions are purely contextual, and to evaluate them in any other light than the circumstances that forged them would be a disservice to yourself. It would also be a discredit to others especially if you find yourself in a leadership role in business, your community, or even in your family. There’s a lot to be said for putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and it takes practice to be truly empathetic.
By focusing on making the best decision in the moment, you set yourself up for the best possible outcome. Risk mitigation and other factors need to be considered before the decision is made (check back for a future article). What happens after the fact isn’t always in your control but take solace in knowing you did the best you could with the information provided.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent that of anyone mentioned in the articles or of my current employer. I am/We are maintaining this blog in an effort to increase awareness and open the door for dialogue in any form about the history of manufacturing, current trends in the industry, and opportunities for the future. Any direct links on this page may or may not be part of an affiliate marketing program and this site may generate revenue from qualifying purchases. Thank you for reading.
Steve Ritter
Mechanical Design Engineer and Project Manager with close to 15 years in a manufacturing setting. I have experience with many CAD software packages over the years (Autodesk (all), Solidworks, Pro/Engineer, UniGraphics), CNC and manual machine operation, CNC programming, and Electro-mechanical prototyping and system design.
