Keep in mind that no single style will work in all situations, and that it is helpful to be skilled across a range of methods. We offer the following rough guidelines for group decision making:

1. Whenever appropriate, delegate decisions downwards; give people a chance to build their decision-making “muscle.” Be crystal clear about what decisions you have delegated, and hold people accountable for those decisions.

1. On important decisions that require widespread commitment for successful implementation, make the decision as a group, either participative or consensus. Enter the process with your own points of view, but be open to having your ideas influenced by others. Be clear whether the final decision is to be made by consensus or by you.

1. Encourage disagreement during the process.

1. Reserve autocratic decisions for situations where there’s no time to invite participation (e.g., when the ship is crashing on the rocks), for trivial decision, for decisions where you want to send a symbolic message to reinforce your values, and for the small set of decisions that you believe should always be made entirely by yourself.

1. Whatever style you use, be up front about it. Pretending to be participative or consensus-oriented in an effort to get “buy-in” to a decision that you’ve already made is terribly destructive. If you practice this type of deception, people will see it, be unimpressed, and feel manipulated. Such deception creates cynicism and lack of genuine commitment. If you’re going to be autocratic, then just be honest about it.

Converting the decision into action is the fourth major element in the decision process. While thinking through the boundary conditions is the most difficult step in decision-making, converting the decision into effective action is usually the most time-consuming one. Yet a decision will not become effective unless the action commitments have been built into the decision from the start.

In fact, no decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific steps has become someone’s work assignment and responsibility. Until then, there are only good intentions.

Converting the decision into action is the fourth major element in the decision process. While thinking through the boundary conditions is the most difficult step in decision-making, converting the decision into effective action is usually the most time-consuming one. Yet a decision will not become effective unless the action commitments have been built into the decision from the start.

In fact, no decision has been made unless carrying it out in specific steps has become someone’s work assignment and responsibility. Until then, there are only good intentions.

Finally, a feedback has to be built into the decision to provide a continuous testing, against actual events, of the expectations that underlie the decision.

Decisions are made by men. Men are fallible; at their best their works do not last long. Even the best decision has a high probability of being wrong. Even the most effective one eventually becomes obsolete.

Whether you go to the concert or stay and work is really a small part of an effective decision. You might make the same choice with a number of other centers. But there are several important differences when you are coming from a principle-centered paradigm. First, you are not being acted upon by other people or circumstances. You are proactively choosing what you determine to be the best alternative. You make your decision consciously and knowledgeably. Second, you know your decision is most effective because it is based on

principles with predictable long-term results.