The Shortest Path from a Problem to a Solution is a Decision
After attending a meeting in the office, my boss mentioned something that was very very interesting. It sounded like an old saying that could have been attributed to Confucious. However, I did a Google and did not find any match. So this must be something new I guess. In the spirit of my previous pearl’s of wisdom blog posts [1][2] here is something new to think about:
The Shortest Path from a Problem to a Solution is a Decision.
This basically resolves the problem of paralysis. In a lot of organizations, the number one reason for organizational paralysis is the inability to make a decision quickly. Of course, being careful and prudent is always important in decision making. A hasty unplanned decision will always lead to disaster. However, taking prudence too far or too much planning will cause the organization to not move forward at all.
So all is well right? Ok. Ok. This original formulation has a problem. It assumes that all decision lead to a solution. This is not always the case. What if the decision was a wrong one and leads the person further away from a solution. However, even if this is the case a decision still moves the entire process forward. It may not lead to a right solution but it was able to eliminate a wrong one. That is still some form of progress. So here is another formulation that might be a bit more workable.
The Shortest Path from a Problem to a Solution is a Prudent Decision.
Hmm. The problem with putting the word prudent is that in front it gives the decision this feeling of slowness. Also there are other words like “well thought of” and “planned” that could get more or less the same point across. Personally, I like shorter words so “well thought of” is out. I also feel that “planned” feels slower than “prudent”. Maybe if the formulation were again modified to make it faster?
The Shortest Path from a Problem to a Solution is a Prudent and Resolute Decision.
“Faster” does not quite cut it because it seems too reckless. But, I guess this is a little better. It might take sometime before we find a better formulation for this. Your comments and suggestions are always welcomed.
Update 2007/03/15: It has been decided that the original simpler formulation be used. This is because the solution does not always have to be the correct solution anyway. Therefore, to get from a problem (which is bad) to any solution (which maybe good or bad) a decision is definitely required first. The faster this decision is made the faster we get to the solution. This is a critical path.
The Shortest Path from a Problem to a Solution is a Decision.
