Teams & strategy
Protocol
In the moment
60 min (short) / 2 hrs (full)
Team / Board
8
How we decide, and keep deciding well.
Use this when a priority or decision conflict has stalled your team or board.
Time 60 minutes (short form) or about 2 hours (full form, with pre-mortem) · Format Team or board · Moment In the moment
Conflict about priorities is rarely about values. It's about how to weight them in this moment, against this decision, with these constraints.
The disagreement can be resolved if the group agrees in advance on how to resolve it. This protocol creates that agreement, reduces bias, and builds commitment to the outcome.
Before you start (5 min)
Name who owns this decision. Even when it's the CE's call, the quality of that call depends on what they heard in the room. This process makes sure they hear the right things.
Decision-holder |
Name the decision clearly. Two or three options only.
Option A | |
Option B | |
Option C (if needed) |
1 · Orient: bias check (10 min)
Each person writes their answers individually, before any discussion.
- What am I most attached to here, and why?
- What's a key assumption I'm making, and what if it were reversed?
- What would change my mind, and am I actually open to that?
Share briefly. The point isn't to resolve bias. It's to name it so it doesn't run silently.
2 · Explore: pre-mortem (60 min · full form only)
Split the group. Each group takes one option.
- Group A · Failure story: It's 18 months from now. This option went badly wrong. Why did it fail? Who was hurt? What did we miss?
- Group B · Success story: Same option, 18 months from now. It was the right call. What shifted? What made it work?
Swap and repeat for the second option. The aim isn't to convince. It's to surface the strongest case for and against each option before anyone scores anything. Disagreement is structural here, not personal.
Notes | |
Key failure themes | |
Key success themes |
3 · Score on six dimensions (20 min)
Score silently and independently. No discussion until everyone has scored.
1 = misaligned or unacceptable · 3 = okay but stretched · 5 = strongly aligned
Dimension | Ask yourself | A | B |
1. Mission fit | How strongly does this advance where we're going? | ||
2. Non-negotiables | Does this stay within what we'll never compromise? | ||
3. Values and identity | Does this reflect who we are and how we behave? | ||
4. Capacity and trade-offs | Can we accept what we stop or reduce to do this, and can we sustain it? | ||
5. Risk and reversibility | How serious is the downside, and how hard would it be to recover? | ||
✦ Global intuition | Setting everything above aside, how right does this feel? | ||
Total |
Look for spread. Wide differences on a dimension signal unresolved conflict or a blind spot. Name it and talk about it. That conversation is often more useful than the number.
4 · Decide and commit (10 min)
The decision-holder makes the call, informed by everything above. Name the decision out loud. Then each person says:
- "I'm willing to commit to…"
- "I remain unsure about, or disagree with…"
This is disagree and commit. Not agreement. Commitment to the process having been honest, and to supporting the decision publicly once it's made.
First action |
5 · Set the triggers (5 min)
Before you leave, agree what would bring you back. Name two or three concrete conditions.
We'll reassess if… | Who watches for it |
This turns the commitment from permanent to conditional. That's what makes it honest.
Summary
Element | Decision |
Decision-holder | |
Options considered | |
Dimension with most spread | |
Decision made | |
First action | |
Reassess triggers |
There's no right answer. There's only a decision made well.
Adapted from decision-making practices associated with Daniel Kahneman, Gary Klein, and "disagree and commit." Maren Frerichs, Aronga.
Back to the mahi.
Want support with what came up?
If you want to be ready before your own stormy day arrives, a Strategic Orientation conversation is a good place to start. No preparation required, just twenty minutes to work out the right next step together.