The Decision Tree

A simple way to identify where you are in your career, understand how to be a better manager, and making better work decisions

Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash

The decision tree is a concept I learned from Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations. There are four levels:

• Leaf — if you’re at this level, you make the decision, act on it, and you don’t report it
• Branch — if you’re at this level, you make the decision, act on it, and then you report the action either daily, weekly or monthly
• Trunk — if you’re at this level, you make the decision, but you report before you take action
• Root — finally, if you’re at this level, you make a decision jointly with input from many people

For instance, if you are trying to decide whether to print a report in black and white or in colour, you are likely making a leaf decision. If you are trying to determine what ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software you want to implement at your company, you are making a root decision. Root decisions have a significant organizational impact, which is why you need to make a decision jointly with input from many people.

Another way to think about this decision tree is that if you pull a leaf off a tree, the tree will likely survive. However, if…