Valid Diagnoses and Good Decisions

On the difficulty of assessing the situation

The Viability Canvas helps to plan good diagnoses and valid and well-founded ways of improvement. While the Viable System Model powers the approach, it is worth considering how analysis, decision-making, and implementation are approached.

This includes some insights on how people observe situations and gain insights from them. We have given significant importance to the OODA loop within the Viability Canvas, as it plays a crucial role in managing and reconciling the approach's conflicting requirements.

Who clicks the fastest

Web designers complain that website visitors do not read through, understand, and evaluate the text. Instead, they often select the first element that looks clickable.

This may be a controversial example, but the real crux is the observation that people are often too quick to jump into actions where a more detailed analysis of the situation would be beneficial.

Try not to jump to conclusions. This is harder than it sounds, but it's a habit worth striving for. Making mindful decisions can lead to better outcomes and a more fulfilling experience.

Diligence Wins: Decision-making at Toyota

The decision-making processes at Toyota are very different from many other companies. Thorough consideration and investment in sound decisions are intended to achieve high-quality results. According to the Toyota philosophy, this is more important than speed. Characteristic features of this approach are:

Genchi Genbutsu: "Go to the site and check for yourself" encourages decision-makers to assess the situation at the site.

Consensus building (Nemawashi): - before a formal decision is made, decision-makers hold numerous discussions with all parties involved.

Long-term perspective: long-term stability and sustainable success are prioritized.

Continuous improvement (Kaizen): Decisions are part of an ongoing improvement and learning process.

Quick decisions do not lead to faster implementation. How decisions are prepared determines their quality, resistance to implementation and sustainability. Every decision is part of an iterative, empirical, goal-oriented process.

The invisible gorilla

A well-known video has gone viral as an example of the phenomenon of selective attention, often referred to as the "Invisible Gorilla" experiment. In the video, viewers are asked to count the number of passes thrown between players on a basketball team. While the players pass the ball back and forth, a person in a gorilla costume slowly walks through the scene, stops in the middle, drums his chest, and then leaves the picture.

Although the gorilla is visible, many viewers do not notice him. Their attention is entirely absorbed by the counting of basketball passes. People tend to overlook unexpected objects in their field of vision when their attention is focused on a demanding task.

Expectations often lead us to overlook surprises. However, if we cultivate the habit of exploring alternatives and variations before making a decision, we can avoid many potential detours, empowering ourselves with a broader perspective.

The Canvas encourages us to switch hats multiple times during an analysis. This leads to more thorough thinking and well-founded decisions.