Consistency counts,
especially when demonstrating integrity. As Emerson said, "Foolish
inconsistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
How do you make
decisions? Do you have a logical pattern for decisionmaking? Does it
lend itself to communicating your decisions or recommendations effectively
so clients and others understand? Will it meet the tests for compliance
and market conduct that you will inevitably need to demonstrate in the
future?…
If these questions
are important to you – and they should be – then here's a
pattern of decisionmaking that can help. The format works well in most
instances because it is logical, it follows a pattern that easily supports
making various types of decisions, and it is easy to communicate.
The four words to
remember – in sequence – are Objective, Situation,
Problem, Solution.
To employ this decisionmaking
style in your practice, first state the objective …the
desired outcome or aim your client is trying to reach. (There may be
more than one objective in any particular case.)
Next, state the
PERTINENT FACTS of the situation as clearly and succinctly
as possible. Stick with facts. Avoid hearsay and unnecessary opinions
unless they are material to the case.
Now, state the
problem that needs to be solved. A problem, by my definition,
is an issue, which if resolved, will help get you to the stated
objective.
Don't be surprised
if you need to redefine the problem or the objective. It is seldom that
people start out working on the real problem they need to solve.
If you are doing
it right, then 80 percent or more of your effort to do this problem–solving
has already been consumed, and the last 20 percent or less can be devoted
to laying out the steps of the best solution. Ironically, by working
diligently on developing a clear objective, compiling the PERTINENT
facts of the situation, and carefully defining the problem that needs
to be solved, then arriving at a suitable solution is pretty easy in
most cases…and you will have solved the real problem.
The advantages to
employing a decisionmaking process such as this in your practice is
that it lends itself to a logic others can understand; you can communicate
it effectively; it is easy to take and keep good notes in this format;
and your creativity will be more productive because this type of decisionmaking
process is very efficient, so your time is freed up to think even more
productively than before. Also, when you visit with a client later,
you have great notes to remind you both what happened before.
