As a company we are often faced with decisions, either about the direction of the company, design decisions for complicated deliverables, hiring additional personnel, where to go for lunch, etc. Rarely is there a shortage of opinions. The reason why I know this is because they are often shared, even when not solicited. This may seem like I am picking on my co-workers but in reality I am celebrating them. The ability to express one's own opinion, and have it be appreciated by others, is part of our vision here at J & R.

The problem with opinions is that they are relative to a person's experience and are partial to their preferences. More importantly, they are not decisions, they are only streams of consciousness about a decision. This problem is great when sitting around drinking wine with your buddies, debating if a suit made from duct tape is really comfortable enough and appropriate to wear to a wedding. This problem is disastrous when your project is running late and the timeline is moving backwards instead of forwards.

When a project task is defined, a single person must be identified as the decision maker. This does not mean that the decision needs to be made by that person alone; a team approach to decision making will often result in a better decision. However, if the team is put in charge of making a decision, a lack of ownership develops. This team needs an assigned leader to drive the process and be responsible for the presented decision.

With the responsibility of a decision resting on the shoulders of one individual, it is important to choose that person wisely. This position needs to be filled by an individual who has the respect of the rest of a team. If the resulting decision is not respected by the rest of the team, nothing is gained. Additionally, this individual must have the personality to guide the decision making process without offending the individuals who contribute opinions. An individual who always does what they want to do is best left making decisions only for themselves.

This brings me back to the decisions at J & R. The common practice here is to listen to everyone's opinion, and then a specified individual makes a decision. I have always respected the decision made even it was are not in line with my opinion because I know that my opinion was heard and seriously considered by the decision maker. This is important because it means that I am a satisfied employee and the company has continued to move forward even when I was trying to pull it back.