Episode #133 Decision Making
Transcript
September 16, 2022
You are listening to My Freedom Grove podcast with Gretchen Hernandez, episode 133.
Welcome to My Freedom Grove Podcast, your calm space for practical help to get your dream business up and running while being authentically you and taking care of your mental health. I'm your host, Gretchen Hernandez. I'm so glad you're here!
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Hi My Strong Friends. Do you enjoy Brainstorming? I do. I love innovation and coming up with new ideas. The brainstorming process allows your creativity to run wild. When I led workshops with a brainstorming component it was standard to come up with 50 or more post-it notes worth of ideas.
And then we had to get grounded in reality.
Businesses have a limited number of resources. Both resource hours and funds. The resource availability for solopreneurs is even more limited.
That’s where decision making is a valuable skill.
WHAT IS DECISION MAKING
Decision making contains the following answers:
- Yes/No to do it
- Which resources to use
- When to do it
It sounds so simple right? That’s because it really is. It’s simple. But, our human brains and our hearts jump in and muddy the waters. We drag out the decision making way longer than it needs to be, which causes more angst, anxiety and confusion. None of that feels good.
A QUICK PROCESS FOR DECISION MAKING
I’m going to share the process I lead people through in Kaizen workshops. Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “Change for the Better”. It involves mapping out a process that needs improvement. We identify all of the process steps that are not working or could work better. We list out the defects and obstacles.
For each of those defects and obstacles we do a brainstorming session of how to resolve it. Here are the steps that come next.
- Confirm step intent and measurable target
- Sort ideas with 4 quadrant Decision Matrix
- Move ideas to relevant Desion Board: Flow Board, Parking Lot, or Graveyard
- Only focus on Flow Board ideas. Complete.
- When resources are available move ideas from Parking Lot to Flow Board.
CONFIRM STEP INTENT AND MEASURABLE TARGET
This step can be used when you are creating a new process or for an existing process. Recently we’ve discussed the creation of your products and services. The execution of the product or the service is a process.
Take the time to identify the intent of the step. Why are you doing it? Refrain from describing how you do the step. That’s not relevant right now. It’s just pulling back to ask the Intent.
What measurable targets are important about that step? I’ll list a few: time to complete, total resource hours needed, # people required, defect free deliverable, ease, monetary cost, engagement
Then you get to do the fun brainstorming. What could you do to achieve the intent and the targets? I highly suggest to write these on sticky notes. That way you can move them around.
DECISION MATRIX
Using a tool always makes a job easier, right? This simple 4 quadrant decision Matrix makes it so much easier. You can see a visual of this tool in the show transcript. Go to the webpage for this episode www.myfreedomgrove.com/podcast-133. Under the podcast player you’ll see a button to access the transcript.
Decision Matrix
The Decision Matrix has 4 boxes. The bottom of the matrix is labeled Effort. Low is on the left. High is on the right. The vertical side is labeled Impact. Low is at the bottom and Big is at the top.
Impact means the how likely is that idea to meet the intent and target of the step. If one idea can benefit several steps, it’s impact is even bigger.
The boxes are labeled 1-4. 1 = Low Effort, Big Impact in the top left box. 2= Hi Effort, Big Impact in the top right box. 3=Low Effort, Low Impact in the bottom left box. And 4=Hi Effort, Low impact in the bottom right box.
If you are following along at home, draw this box out really big. Now grab those idea post it notes. Compare them to the targets on your process. Then place the post it in the appropriate box.
Once you’re done, take a picture. You will end up moving these sticky notes to their final destination. It’s a great reference to see where they started. Alternatively, you can label the sticky with the corresponding number 1-4.
DECISION BOARDS
There are 3 Decision boards. You can create either physical boards to keep out and visual on your wall. Or you can create electronic boards. Both work.
The first will be The Flow Board. This contains all of the first priority sticky notes. The first priority sticky notes come from quadrant 1 & 2. All of these have Big Impact. Some are low effort, others are high effort.
FLOW BOARD
A Flow Board is a visual representation of all of the tasks or projects to do. Have you ever been overwhelmed by everything that has to get done? That usually comes when you are looking at everything in one long list. A flow board helps constrain your focus.
Flow Board
A Visual of the Flow Board is also located in the show transcript. The flow board has 3 columns. The first is Labeled On Deck. The Middle Column is labeled Doing. And the final column is labeled Done.
At first you will transfer all of your Quadrant 1&2 stickies to the On Deck column. At this point you will need to estimate the resources and timing needed to complete each sticky note. You can use actual numbers. Or if you prefer to use an Agile Dot system, you may. In the Agile Dot system, you assign between 1-4 dots to each sticky note. 1 dot means the lowest effort & time. 4 dots mean the highest effort and time.
Once you have completed the resource estimate, determine the max load you can handle for the week based on your available resources. Only pull sticky notes that will fit your availability. The rest can wait.
Once you complete a Sticky Note from your Doing column, move it to the Done column.
Optional - if it would be helpful, you can perform a quick lessons learned on that task. On the back of the sticky note you can jot down What worked, what didn’t, and what would be better.
Now that your Doing column has space, you can move a sticky from the On Deck column over to the Doing column.
These flow boards work great for individuals and teams. As an individual, it is easy to get caught up in mind drama that you are not doing enough. When you use a flow board, you get the dopamine hit of seeing how many sticky notes end up in the Done column. It is also a Self Care thing to ensure that you are not overcommitting yourself. Ensure that the number of sticky notes in the Doing Column is realistic for the resources you have available that week.
Flow boards work great for teams too. It can help you manage the workload across all team members. It also gives a chance for people to ask for help if one sticky note task gets stuck.
If using for a team, consider how you will differentiate each person’s assignment. 2 methods include:
- Color coding the sticky notes by person
- Create horizontal lanes for each person. Only include their sticky notes in those lanes.
PARKING LOT
The parking lot decision board contains quadrant 3 sticky notes. Those are items that require low effort and only give a low impact. These can be pulled in during unexpected free time.
The Parking Lot can also be used to hold some Quadrant 2 sticky notes. Those are the High Effort, Big Payoff ideas. If the Effort far exceed the available resources this quarter or this year, it’s better to take it of the “On Deck” board and place it in the “Parking Lot”. That way you haven’t lost the idea. It is still viable, just not right now.
GRAVEYARD
This is such a morbid term. But it is appropriate. We may brainstorm ideas we absolutely love. They may be hard to let go of. But, if they show up in quadrant 4 : High Effort, Low Impact, we have to face reality. At any time, if one of the other ideas starts to have too many obstacles and there is a viable alternative, the original sticky may also go to the Graveyard.
Why not just throw them in the trash? You can certainly do that. However, if the idea gets brought up again, the Graveyard is a quick reference for why the Idea was released.
STAY IN CONSTRAINED FLOW
Your mental bandwidth will thank you for the constraint of the Flow Boards. Nothing was forgotten. Just keep the flow moving from On Deck →Doing→Done.
All of the anxiety lightens up. You can breathe again. Things are planned in a very easy way.
It may be hard to face the reality of actual time/resources required to complete the tasks. We want to get everything done today. Find some calming thoughts on why it is ok that these tasks will take a while.
You are human.
This is how you put your Mental Health first. You don’t burn yourself out. You focus on the biggest impact stuff first.
My friends, whether you use the Decision Matrix and Flow Boards for 1 project or your whole business, it will help you. I even have an old colleague that used Flow Boards for getting her big family ready for a vacation.
It eases your mind. It right sizes your load so you stay healthy and make progress.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with your business, I invite you to schedule a free consultation with me. We can discuss options for how you can have your dream business that works while taking care of your Mental Health.
Go to my website at www.myfreedomgrove.com/contact.
My friends, I hope you enjoy your weekend. The weather reports promises rain in Northern California this weekend. Fingers crossed!
I’ll talk with you soon. Bye bye.
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Thank you for listening to My Freedom Grove Podcast. When you are ready to make your dream business a reality and take care of your mental health, I invite you to join the Unshakable Business Co-Lab. This is the mastermind membership you've been waiting for. There's no limits on your imagination, nor your timeline. We're with you every step of the way. To learn more, please visit www.myfreedomgrove.com/join. I'll see you there!
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