RAPID Decision-Making

Is your organization ready to use RAPID? To find out, you can ask yourself the following questions. But even if it turns out that RAPID is not the right choice for your organization at this time, the process of figuring that out – using the possibility of RAPID as a diagnostic – will likely add value by providing some clarity about how your organization functions.

• Is there is a shared sense of frustration with decision making across the organization? When people across an organization feel that decisions take too long or that the wrong people are involved, RAPID can be a useful tool. If this concern isn't shared, introducing RAPID can generate more heat than light. Those who feel that decision making is fine will not see why RAPID is relevant. And even those who see that there are some problems in the decision-making process, but also understand how things work, may see the process as scary and threatening, or even just a waste of time. Against that backdrop, we've heard lots of objections to RAPID: "the letters are in the wrong order"; "it feels like you're trying to speed us up, but we are a thoughtful group"; or even "it is another consultant thing".
• Is decision making the real problem? If the leadership and management team are good, but frustrated with how decisions get made, then RAPID can likely help. But if the real problem is the organization's leadership, or dissonance around values, or even lack of alignment on the mission, then RAPID will not help. It might also be the wrong time for RAPID if the organization is in flux. The leadership team of one organization with which we're familiar was in the midst of a massive overhaul, forming teams of people who had never worked together and who weren't even clear as to what exactly was in their purview. Quickly realizing that they were not ready to lay out the important tasks that needed to be discussed, the organization's leaders stopped attempting to use RAPID and focused instead on continuing to build and strengthen a foundation that would allow them to use RAPID successfully in the future.
• Are the organization's leaders personally ready for RAPID? If the people in power are uncomfortable making that power explicit, they should not attempt RAPID, however difficult decision making may be. RAPID in this context will only make things worse. Small, growing organizations need nurturing. Many function well with the original founder and a familial set of relationships. Mapping how the power flows in the "family" will make the relationships more "professional". If the organization isn't ready for that, then wait.
• Can you allow enough time to decide how to decide? Changing how decisions are made strikes at the heart of most organizations. It means making power explicit, which at best makes people nervous. It might mean empowering some people, and taking others out of the loop, if only for a particular decision. People whose roles are thrust into the spotlight often have strong points of view and feelings. Hearing these out, and working through to the right solution takes time. While the acronym ‘RAPID' captures a key benefit of the tool – the ability to make decisions more swiftly – it can also suggest to people that this is a process to be rushed. It is not.