The
decision-making cycle is not complete until the decision is
implemented and the original need is satisfied. During the
implementation period, progress should be reviewed on a regular basis to 1) ensure adequate
progress, 2) monitor any changes in the original need that might warrant
a deviation from the original implementation plan, and 3) discover
fresh
opportunities for improving the decision and its implementation
plan. As time proceeds, conditions change. Most complex and
important decisions required a lengthy time period to implement a
decision. During the time it takes to implement a specific decision
choice, many things could change to affect both the necessity of the original
need and/or the desirability of the solution (alternative selected). All
decisions that required a lengthy implementation period should undergo a
periodic review. During each review, the decision maker should ask
these questions:
1. Is the implementation plan proceeding according to plan? If not, why
not? A risk assessment with discrete interventions may be
warranted to get back on track.
2. Is the original want or need still viable (has it been satisfied by other
means? There is no point in continuing with the means
(implementation of a decision choice) if the ends
(wants and needs) have changed. New ends may require new means.
3. Are there new, more important wants and needs that have emerged that
demand some of the resources intended for the implementation plan. New ends will require new means and each
means requires resources for their attainment. Adjusting the
implementation plan and schedule based on resource availability are sometimes necessary to realign with
shifting needs and their relative priority. The
decision-maker must stay in sync with the current reality by acknowledging that
changing circumstances can cause shifts in both needs, implementation
plans and availability of resources.
Success
in life depends on well each person (decision-maker) manages their most precious resources
(time, energy, and investment capital). Limited resources
limits the number of needs that each person can pursue.
Success in life is somewhat proportional to the number of satisfied
needs, which in turn depends on the quality of the decisions made to
achievement, the viability of the implementation plans to execute the decision choice, and how well the
decision-maker adapts to evolving circumstances during the
implementation phase. All three
skills must be applied to achieve personal success - defined here as
the satisfaction of human needs. Decision-making and the
implementation of those decisions are the keys to personal
success. If a decision-maker selects an suboptimal
alternative, then either less of a need is satisfied or more resources are expended
than required. If a suboptimal implementation plan is selected, it make
take more resources to satisfy the need. If
circumstances change, and the decision-maker does not adapt to them,
then the
imperfect alignment between ends and means means inefficiency and
ineffectiveness.
Everyone should schedule periodic reviews of both the ends
(wants and needs) and the means (their decisions and the
progress in implementing them) to make sure that everything is on
track. If not, then changes are warranted to get back into
alignment. These reviews normally result in
some mid-course corrections to maintain the alignment between the ends and means
that are essential for a success completion of the decision cycle.
