Decision excellence: What is it, and how do you get there?

Author

Arpit Shah

Director, Business Value & Strategy

Woman smiling with arms crossed in a meeting room, and a group seated around a conference table listening to a presenter at a whiteboard. Woman smiling with arms crossed in a meeting room, and a group seated around a conference table listening to a presenter at a whiteboard.

More than an aspiration, decision excellence is a proven leadership framework for tangible connected enterprise success.

Decision excellence is making the right decision at the right time to drive the right outcome. The challenge lies in achieving this. 

Our research into decision excellence, conducted in partnership with McKinsey, identifies two main categories that contribute to good decision-making: the connectedness of an organization and the strength of its decision-making process. By breaking down organizational silos and connecting vertically, horizontally, and externally across your business, you can better utilize data, processes, and planning to conduct what-if scenarios that highlight risks and opportunities.

A strong decision-making process relies on the quality of information used, the speed of decision-making, and the frictionless operation of these processes throughout the organization. Only when all these elements are in place can decision excellence be achieved.

How will decision excellence impact your business?

From the post room to the board room, thousands of decisions are made every day that directly or indirectly affect how (or if) your organization achieves its goals. Every decision you make today impacts tomorrow, and the consequences of those decisions will be felt across your business:

  1. Achieve direct financial gain: The Anaplan decision excellence report quantifies for the first time the financial impact of improving your decision-making. It concluded that optimizing your decision-making will boost total shareholder return (TSR) by up to 14%, adding billions to your balance sheet.
  2. Improve operational efficiency and agility: Reducing unproductive activities and focusing on what matters not only boosts efficiency but also morale and productivity across the organization. According to the research, improving decision-making also results in:
    • 43% reduction in unproductive meetings = Efficient decision-making processes free up valuable executive time.
    • 25% increase in focus on crucial matters = Leaders can prioritize strategic initiatives over mundane tasks.
    • 38% more likely to make data-informed decisions = Access to accurate, real-time data boosts decision quality.
  3. Increase market responsiveness: Making decisions that help your organization stay agile and flexible means you can better navigate external pressures and opportunities, positioning your organization to capitalize on market shifts and emerging trends, our research demonstrates this:
    • 58% higher customer and supplier engagement = Better external relationships foster resilience and adaptability.
    • 42% more aligned internal processes = Streamlined operations enable quicker pivots in response to market changes.
    • 50% more real-time performance monitoring = Continuous oversight allows for proactive rather than reactive management.
  4. Drive competitive advantage: Making swift, informed decisions is what separates leaders from laggards. By improving connectedness and decision-making processes, all parts of your organization are aligned enabling your organization to outpace and outperform against your competitors.

What is your pathway to decision excellence?

While no two journeys to decision excellence will look the same, below are some areas for consideration as you embark on your journey:

  • Invest in a scenario planning and analysis platform: Enhance horizontal and vertical connectedness by investing in systems that integrate data, processes, and operations across the enterprise to rapidly deliver what-if scenarios.
  • Foster a culture of data-driven decision-making: Encourage the use of real-time data and analytics at all decision-making levels across the company to ensure choices are informed and timely.
  • Streamline your decision-making processes: Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in current decision-making frameworks and streamline the number of people involved to improve speed and efficiency.
  • Enhance external relationships: Develop stronger connections with customers and suppliers by embarking on a relationship-building strategy to boost your agility in responding to market dynamics, mitigate against threats, and help you identify opportunities.  

Now that you understand why decision excellence is important and how it will positively impact your business, it’s time for action. Read our executive summary to boost your understanding of these concepts learn more about how Anaplan can help you embark on your journey toward decision excellence.

Want to discover more about our decision excellence research and find out exactly how many billions you could add to your bottom line with a decision excellence strategy?