Decisiveness
It’s not the lightest summer read, but I was drawn to Stephen Breyer’s book, Reading the Constitution, Why I Chose Pragmatism Not Textualism, because I take a pragmatic rather than a dogmatic approach to analysis and problem-solving. So, I was interested to learn what a former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court had to say on the subject.
In the book, Breyer explains his purpose-oriented approach, as a former judge, to interpreting statutes and how it differs from his colleagues who prefer a textualist approach, an approach that places great weight on text (words) and related linguistic features. The challenge that he describes is that the “legal system has to account that while the human experience changes, the text of the law does not” and therefore judges have to apply old law (and text) to new circumstances.
As I read how Breyer looked at an issue holistically rather than narrowly, I could not help but think of how the same approach applied to business decisions. And many of the purpose-related, interpretive tools that Breyer described are not that much different than tools available to a decisive manager.
Purpose. Ask the “why” question. Why was a statute, or in an organization a policy, passed or implemented in the first place. In other words, what is its purpose. For example, employee conduct policies establish and define acceptable standards to assure workplace harmony and fairness.
Context. This looks at the boundaries of time, place and current circumstances. For example, two employees caught drinking alcohol on company premises—a clear policy violation—were punished, but in different ways. One had a long history of disciplinary actions and despite offers of help to change his behavior, failed to do so. He was terminated. For the other, it was his first policy violation. He was suspended for five days without pay. In making fair and equitable decisions, circumstances matter.
History and precedent. For a judge, Breyer pointed out, looking at written legislative history often provides clarity into the intent or purpose of a statute. In organizations, this luxury is often lacking unless the people who wrote the policies are still around to provide insights. Looking at past practices—how similar situations were addressed—however, is something that must be considered.
Making decisions, especially about employees, is an art, not a science. Judgment and decisiveness matter. Don’t expect to have an algorithm that shows if this happens, then you must take a certain action, or as someone once asked me, “Don’t you have a three-strikes and you’re out model for dealing with employee issues?”
Breyer points out that textualists seek a single, right answer, an answer to which the text, as properly interpreted, will point. As we’ve written about in the past, especially in They Did What?, human behavior is unpredictable and answers to behavioral problems don’t come in tidy packages or algorithms.
The Decisive Manager asks the right questions, gets all the facts, explores options, seeks guidance and uses judgment before making decisions.