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| Volume 6, Issue 5 - May, 2007
The more I study decision-making, the more convinced I become of the importance of thinking from the end rather than thinking about the process. Some people have referred to this as beginning with the end in mind and others refer to it as framing the future. Regardless of what you call it, success depends upon it. In the history of decision-making, one of the most famous cases of successful reframing involved Pepsi and John Sculley. Prior to Sculley taking over the marketing for Pepsi, the focus of efforts had been on trying to find a bottle design that would allow Pepsi to compete on an even footing with the distinctive Coke bottle. Scully realized that this framing was not producing any useable results. Instead of continuing this focus he undertook research to better understand the consumer and their use of Pepsi products. He learned that consumers would in fact consume whatever was available to them. Consequently Scully reframed the efforts of the company towards developing larger and more varied bottle size options allowing the consumer to decide on the serving size they wanted. Scully’s reframing was hugely successful. Another aspect of framing the future rather than using the traditional decision-making process is the power of the positive. In most traditional decision-making processes, we are forced to make a decision because of some deficit or problem that we are trying to overcome. All too frequently our objective becomes not having the problem or deficit (i.e. “The War on Terror). I am absolutely convinced that it is much harder to achieve a positive result when faced with a deficit or trying not to have a problem. It is much easier to rally resources around a positive issue than it is around a negative issue. Sadly, I think George Bush has fallen into this trap with the “War on Terror.” Just as we had little or no success with the “War on Poverty” I am beginning to question whether we will have success with the “War on Terror.” It is the wrong framing. We further complicate the issue by refusing to define the true enemy, radical Islam. It is also hard to generate enthusiasm without more catastrophes a la 9/11. This isn’t a war in the traditional sense where two armies line up and fight for specific geographical territory. Poor framing has contributed to the low poll numbers supporting the “War.” Our efforts in the Middle East have at least three elements. First and foremost is Peace. I think it is universal to say that we all want to live in peace. We want peace between Shiites and Sunni. We want peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We want peace between the U.S. and all countries. Second, we want Freedom. We want Freedom from fear. None of us want to spend our lives worrying about airplanes being flown into buildings, suicide bombers, roadside bombs or worse. We wanted freedom for the people of Iraq from the horrendous treatment at the hands of Saddam Hussein. We want freedom from discrimination for the women of Islam. We want freedom from fear for the world. We want freedom for all people to enjoy life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Third, we want Prosperity for all people. Suicide bombers, roadside bombs, car bombs and truck bombs all take their toll on civilized society. While the loss of human life is always first in our hearts and minds, it is important to realize that many of these bombs also destroy institutions and infrastructure. These bombers are taking a high toll on human life as well as our way of life. Electricity, Water, Gas, Oil, Roads and Bridges are all things that help us live a more prosperous life and disruption of these services hurt us all. Survival and subsistence do not lend themselves to building a prosperous economy. The Democrats in Congress and now our allies the Brits are taking the words, “War on Terror” out of the lexicon and after some thought, I agree with them. I would, however, replace them with the “Peace, Freedom and Prosperity Initiative” and support this with all the resources that we have at our command. Our troops need our support now and in the future for as long as it takes to make the “Peace, Freedom and Prosperity Initiative” a success. •Masterpieces in Health Care Leadership •Decision-Making Training
If you have a subject that you would like to see covered in future issues of “Taking Aim,” please send me an email at aim@CannonAdvantage.com.
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Robert E. Cannon "Best Practice" Sales Force Development Change Management Customer Service Assessment for ISO Requirements Smart Thoughts from Smart People "Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance." Will Durant “You will be happier if you will give people a bit of your heart rather than a piece of your mind.” Unknown "I'm very determined and stubborn. There's a desire in me that makes me want to do more and more, and to do it right. Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit." Mary Lou Retton "Nothing is so wretched or foolish as to anticipate misfortunes. What madness is it to be expecting evil before it comes." Seneca Taking Aim © 2007 Bob Cannon, The Cannon Advantage Newsletter. All Rights Reserved. The Cannon Advantage visual branding by Zarney Creative. For contact information, click “Resources.” |
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