Decision fitness is your company’s ability to make smart, timely, and informed decisions that keep everything moving in the right direction. Just like physical fitness, if you’re not actively working on it, things start to slow down. How do you know if you have a decision fitness problem? It’s when projects drag out because of unclear priorities when meetings feel more like debates than decision-making sessions, and when different teams seem to be speaking entirely different languages. If your product launches feel like a game of whack-a-mole, chances are your decision fitness needs a tune-up.
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What’s the Big Problem?
Let’s face it: decision fitness is the key to keeping your team moving in the right direction. Without it, your decision-making process starts to look more like a circus, with teams running in circles. The product roadmap becomes more like a wish list than a strategy. It’s not that your team isn’t working hard—they’re just not working together in the right way.
How Do Most People Solve It?
Most organizations try to fix this with tools. Slack? Check. Trello? Check. CRM? Double-check. They pile on collaboration software like it’s a life raft. They hold meetings, hoping that putting everyone in the same room (or Zoom) will magically fix communication. Some even go as far as having daily check-ins, like that’s going to stop the chaos.
Why Doesn’t It Work for Them?
Here’s why: They’re treating the symptoms, not the cause. Adding more meetings and tools doesn’t address the root problem. Misaligned goals, poor communication, and lack of collaboration can’t be fixed with another Slack channel. These tactics are like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone. The real issue is a lack of proactive, forward-thinking decision-making processes.
How Might I Solve It Differently?
Enter scenario planning—a better way to prepare for the unknown. By planning for different potential futures, you can make sure your team isn’t just reacting but proactively guiding the product’s direction. Think of it as mapping out three alternate realities for your product, each with its own set of measurable outcomes. Now, when the market shifts, your team can pivot with confidence, instead of scrambling to figure out what’s next.
Recommended Action Steps for Readers with This Big Problem:
1. Plan for Uncertainty: Build out three scenarios for your product’s future, each with different leading metrics. What are the signals that will tell you which scenario you’re in?
2. Measure What Matters: Use leading indicators like user activity or churn risk, rather than waiting for revenue reports to tell you you’re in trouble.
3. Invest in Culture: Align your teams not just with tools, but with shared goals. Tools help, but only if the culture is already in place.
4. Keep Training: Make sure every team member knows how to leverage your existing tools and understands the strategic direction.
What is your strategy for quick adaptation if market conditions shift dramatically?
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