Establish Accountability - The formal process dictates that you consider all possibilities
We all have our personal preferences and biases which even the best of us surrender too occasionally; this is why it is so important to introduce a formal process that guides decision making. Now, I am not talking about analyzing things to death, but establishing a framework to ensure that you are not simply making the default decision because it’s easy or familiar. It helps ensure that you are asking “Why?” regularly, and prevents routine work from becoming stale. For example, consider setting a standard that all projects costing $5000 for external services or products will require quotes from at least two competing vendors. People get comfortable with their partners, and that is a good thing, but over time, business that was once competitively sought just becomes a standard practice. By forcing yourself to consider all possibilities, it keeps you open-minded and fresh, while increasing the accountability of your partners, because they know they can never take your business for granted. It helps remove any trace of the “entitlement” mentality and ensures that when people are doing business with you, they bring their “A” games, as you will accept nothing less. Also, people tend to jump to conclusions. How many times have you seen a group of people charge off in one direction based on flawed assumptions? By taking a step back and considering alternatives, you can sometimes enhance the original idea. We will discuss brainstorming later, but when ideas are shared and debated, they normally lead to a better end product. The same can be true of considering even outlandish possibilities.
By actively vetting possibilities, you actually help fulfill a previous requirement of making information-sharing the default in your organization. Through the vetting process you will be documenting the actions to support your decision. This documentation can prove invaluable later in the project, or even as a reference for future work. This will not prevent mishaps from occurring on your projects, but by taking a bigger-picture view, you should be able to better identify potential risks and have mitigation plans in place to help minimize unpleasant events.
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