Basic Skills / Fast Company / Journal Project, Will R. Yliniemi  September 17, 1999 Fast Company # 8, So Many Decisions, So Little Time by Cathy Olofson, October 1999 Issue Fast Company, Page 62

Summary The article was in the Whats Your Problem section of the October Issue of Fast Company and consists of quotes from Dominic Orr, President and CEO, Alteon WebSystems Inc. Dominic describes how decisions are made, ideas are presented, problems are defined, and solutions decided upon in the company.

A quick Summary: How do we make decisions that we can trust without wasting valuable time? Making high-stakes decisions as a team is important, but we dont have time for endless debate or for office politics. The solution is brutal intellectual honesty. We focus on collecting as many facts as quickly as we can, and then we decide on the best  but not necessarily the perfect  solution. Theres no silent disagreement, and no getting personal, and definitely no lets take it offline mentality. People arrive at meetings with a proposal or a solution  and with the facts to support it. If an idea collapses under scrutiny, we move unto another: no hard feelings. We are judging the idea, not the person. Passionate conflict means we are getting somewhere, not that the discussion is out of control. One person acts as a referee by asking questions about whether the idea or solution is good for the company and its customers. By focusing on facts, were able to see the strengths and weaknesses of an idea clearly and quickly.

Reflection After reading this article, I found myself contemplating if such a solution scenario could be applicable for Extension programs. I was reminded of many instances in which brutal honesty was avoided for fear of invoking hard feelings. And yet, of other instances in program planning efforts with close colleagues that respected and valued your opinion and abilities, whereby passionate conflict (Brutal Honesty) about ideas was welcomed. The key component is to depersonalize and concentrate on the facts leading to solutions. I must admit that allowing no-holds barred scrutiny usually yields a better product and can be very stimulating.

Discussion In past discussions about this solution methodology with my fellow extension educators, over previous planning efforts, the openness of discussion and exchange of ideas invigorated us and produced some excellent extension programs. One colleague stated that this process is very difficult if trust and/or respect has not been established. The key is to deal with the facts and judge the idea and not the person.

-- Anonymous, September 17, 1999