Good Decisions Slow Organisations Down | Nordsteg Insights #23
Good decisions accelerate.
At least it looks that way.
The illusion of speed
When the CEO decides quickly, things move forward immediately.
Problems get solved. Projects advance.
It feels efficient. But it isn't.
The hidden effect
Every central decision generates waiting time.
Invisible.
But everywhere in the system.
- Decisions are being prepared
- Information is being collected
- Alignment is being sought
And in the end: waiting happens.
Speed gets shifted
The company does not get faster. It only shifts the speed onto one person.
Everything before slows down. Everything after depends on it.
The real brake
The problem is not the decision. The problem is the structure behind it.
When decisions are made centrally, the system has to be built to wait.
The turning point
Fast organisations do not make better decisions.
They make decisions simultaneously. Independently of each other.
What's missing
Not competence. But decision-making capability within the system.
That means:
- clear criteria
- defined thresholds
- known decision spaces
Then something new emerges: speed without dependency.
The difference
Central systems are fast in the moment.
Distributed systems are fast as a whole.
Conclusion
Good decisions accelerate individual situations. But they slow the system down.
Because real speed only emerges when no one has to wait any more.
Nicolas Fabjan – Founder & CEO of Nordsteg OnlineMarketing. Plain talk for entrepreneurs – about marketing, systems and the future.
