Description
Book SynopsisWhat do you do whenthealgorithm doesn't have the answer?
Countlesstoolsand frameworks claim to make decisionsobjectiveand bias-free.But in reality, thedefiningdecisionsthat leaders face are complex ones with subjective information sources and conflicting courses of action. That's why thetoughest choicesare left to the leaders, and that's whyformulaswon'tanswerthem.
InDifficult Decisions:How Leaders Make the Right Call with Insight, Integrity, and Empathy,leadership expert andCEO of YSC Consulting,Eric Pliner,delivers a set of practical toolsfor readers tomake sense of these complex, subjective decisions quickly and with integrity. It presents a path tounderstandingyourown subjectivity, and howyourmorals, ethics, and responsibilities affect howleadersmakethe most important decisions.
Difficult Decisionsis ideal for executives, managers, and business leaderstoexaminetheir own intuition and navigate the most conflictedchoicesthey make. It's ach
Table of Contents
Preface: Writing Wrong xi
Chapter 1 Difficult Decisions 1
Making Difficult Decisions 8
How We Make Decisions Now 11
Key Points 22
Chapter 2 The Moral–Ethical–Role Responsibility Triangle 23
Morals versus Ethics: Election 27
Jean and Paula 29
Win as Much as You Can 32
Do the Right Thing 41
Key Points 42
Chapter 3 Morals 43
Communicating Your Morality and Asking about Morality 47
Knowing the Sources of Your Morality 54
Reflecting on the Sources of Your Morality 55
Understanding the Parameters and Boundaries of Your Morality 56
A Moral Exercise 67
Exercise: Morality and Your Leadership Narrative 70
Key Points 73
Chapter 4 Ethics 75
Characteristics of Ethics 77
Ethics Are Contextually Dependent and Are, Therefore, Not Uniform 77
Ethics Can Change over Time 81
Ethics Are about Shared Social Acceptability, but They Are Not about Popularity 83
The Ethics of Leading Politically 92
Waiving Ethics 95
An Exercise in Exceptions 98
Ethics and Judgment 100
An Ethics Exercise 102
Key Points 111
Chapter 5 Role Responsibilities 113
Who You Are Charged to Serve 117
Stakeholder Mapping 118
Socioemotional Role 121
Understanding Dynamic Roles 128
A Role Exercise 137
Key Points 145
Chapter 6 Using the Triangle to Make Difficult Decisions 147
Decision-Making Ecosystem and Its Associated Expectations 148
Thoughtful Learning and Development for the Leader 149
The Importance of Deep Consideration of What Truly Matters to Us 149
What and How to Communicate to Audiences with Varied Needs and Perspectives 150
The Tissue Test 153
Key Points 161
Chapter 7 I Think I Know What I Think; Now What? 163
A Decision-Making Process 164
A View, a Voice, a Vote, or a Veto 180
A View 181
A Voice 182
A Vote 182
A Veto 183
Delegating 184
Facts versus Feelings 186
Tools and Muscles 187
Key Points 190
Afterword 191
Acknowledgments 193
About the Author 197
Index 199
