This week, making the most of decision making and how digital IDs can create economic value across the globe. Plus, reading picks from Miriam Owens, a consultant in Chicago and lead singer of a rock band. |
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Do you want your people to make fast decisions or good ones? Trick question: the choice isn’t binary. Not only are fast decisions often the best ones, but decisive organizations also are consistently at the head of the pack. And slow decision making can result in missed opportunities. |
Yet in our new McKinsey Global survey of more than 1,200 executives, only 20 percent of respondents believe their organizations excel at making fast, high-quality decisions. Executives reported spending an average of 37 percent of their time making decisions. It was hardly time well spent: 61 percent said most of their decision-making time is used ineffectively. That translates into a lot of wasted hours and labor costs. |
Our survey showed a strong correlation between quick decisions and good ones, and those getting it right shared the hallmarks of what we’ll call winning organizations. Those organizations had higher growth and/or better returns from their decisions relative to their peers. |
Winning doesn’t take tons of meetings and working groups. For everyday decisions, what’s needed are effective delegation, empowerment, and permission for employees to “fail safely.” When it comes to big-bet, future-shaping decisions, you need to exercise discipline to rein in meeting creep, and make sure that everyone involved knows their role. |
One role you never want represented in a meeting? What we’ll call tourists. Plenty of colleagues want to be in the loop, but unless they have a decision-making role, they shouldn’t be there. Find other ways to communicate decisions to relevant stakeholders, such as town halls. Good decisions are the culmination of a thoughtful process. Clarifying these roles will help that process be thorough and speedy. |
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OFF THE CHARTS |
Digital ID: The key to inclusive growth |
According to World Bank estimates, almost a billion people globally lack any form of legally recognized identification. For that group, and others with limited access to the digital economy, a digital ID would create economic value by fostering inclusion. This, in turn, would provide greater access to goods and services. Increased formalization would also help to reduce fraud, protect rights, and increase transparency. |
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MORE ON MCKINSEY.COM |
Utilities and climate-change risk | Extreme weather events are exacting a high and rising price for utilities. But there are strategies they can take to adapt, including hardening the grid and decentralizing power generation. |
For OEMs, the aftermarket is fertile ground | Agriculture and construction OEMs that want to improve their aftermarket sales must offer more innovative products and services in four areas. |
Spending less, demanding more | Middle Eastern consumers are feeling less optimistic about their financial prospects, our latest survey shows. They also want more convenience and locally sourced products—challenges that retailers must address. |
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WHAT WE’RE READING
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Miriam Owens |
Miriam Owens is a consultant in Chicago, focusing on talent management, performance transformation, and human-capital strategy. She’s also the lead singer in Who Just Joined, a band from McKinsey’s Chicago office that plays a mix of classic rock and pop.
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Joanna Faber’s How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen provides tactical strategies for communicating with little ones (ages two to seven) who are still figuring out how to express themselves. I have a two-year-old son with one more on the way. When my new one arrives in June, I’m anticipating having to deal with a lot of big feelings from my first, so I’m sure I’ll be returning to this great book, which is grounded in early childhood research. |
Like many of us in our hyperconnected world, I often find myself focused on a personalized screen, cut off from what’s around me. How to Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price offered me practical strategies on how to wean myself off constant contact with my phone. It’s amazing how small changes (like charging my phone outside my bedroom at night) can shift my behavior over the entire day for the better. (The nuclear option would be to delete my Facebook account, but, you know, baby steps.) |
Being able to bounce back from our mistakes is critical to long-term performance and overall mental health, but it’s easy to fall into a self-recrimination spiral when we (inevitably) misstep. Jessica Bacal’s Mistakes I Made at Work: 25 Influential Women Reflect on What They Got Out of Getting It Wrong, which caught my eye at a FedEx store, of all places, is inspiring, relatable, and funny. It’s also a helpful reminder that making mistakes is part of professional growth. |
I love music—making time to play in the band is hugely important for my overall mental health—and I’ve loved David Bowie since I was in middle school. David Bowie: A Life by Dylan Jones has been a fun recent read for some of the stories behind my favorite albums, and for a deeper perspective on one of the greatest artistic minds in 20th century popular music. |
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BACKTALK |
Have feedback or other ideas? We’d love to hear from you. |
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