"Most discussions of decision making assume that only senior executives make decisions or that only senior executives' decisions matter. This is a dangerous mistake."
Peter Drucker was absolutely correct here, and it is something still practiced and assumed in much of the business world.
The very best companies understand that tens of thousands of decisions are being made daily all across their companies, and it's not the higher up decisions that are necessarily the ones that make a company great.
Even in small one-owner businesses there can be hundreds of decisions made daily that can be the difference between long-term failure or success.
The key is to have the company set up entrepreneurally, so that there is ownership across the board. That means everyone has access to whatever information there is to do their jobs, and are given the go ahead to make decisions that will take care of the problem on the spot.
What is dangerous is excluding our people from decision-making, or neglecting that they will make a decision one way or the other. The key is to have them immersed in our vision and purpose, while understanding the culture we represent, if they have that down, and understand the basic parameters everyone should be operating under, decisions being made should be safe.
It when the foundation isn't laid within someone that tremendous problems can arise.
Drucker's right though, the assumption that effective decisions are only made at high levels is a dangerous mistake.
Other Peter Drucker Resources:
The Man Who Invented Management
Beyond the Information Revolution
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