There was one exercise in particular that feels important to share. It’s very simple. Just write ‘100 reasons why…’. 

OK, maybe it’s not quite that simple, but it almost is.

1. Start with a decision you have made recently. It needs to be something a little meaty, something that requires a bit of commitment and gumption to see through to the end. I hesitate to use the gym membership analogy because everyone does, but it is that sort of thing. It probably requires an outlay of time, energy, money, or perhaps a change in habitual behaviour.
2. Put the kettle on
3. Find a pad of paper, or dig out that nice blank journal book that arrived as a Christmas present in 2015
4. Write the decision, including the related action 
5. Number 1-100 every other line
6. Make the hot beverage of your choice
7. Read the decision again, tap into the feeling that the decision gives you
8. Start writing, completing all 100 now or over the next few days

By the end of it, ‘something’ will have happened. For me it was a sudden ‘a-ha!’ moment, an insight that has proved to be enduringly useful in all sorts of ways.

It’s a fabulously simple little process and I realise that it has all sorts of beneficial applications for organisation management. Here are three for a start:

• Board and committee decisions – imagine if everyone writes ‘100 reasons why…’ for a strategic decision? How powerful an exercise would that be? It would also give great insight into how the group overall is thinking. Strategic thinking shouldn’t be done in a rush, so there should be time to take a two meeting approach, with reflection and adjustment at the second meeting. It’s good to take time to listen to one another, especially if individual volume levels vary. Consider shifting things up a little by everyone reading out somebody else’s list. You could just pass them one to the right, or put them in a pile in the middle of the table, without names to take out prejudicial thought. Where is the consensus? What are the areas of difference? What are the surprises? Does that affect the overall decision?

• Bid writing – well the successful bid starts a long time before the application form gets written, but having read a few over the years, the ones that stand out in the pile are the ones that have that intangible authenticity. There’s an added dimension to the words. You can feel the project’s sustainable roots. Writing ‘100 reasons why…’ for the need of a project, or the selected delivery method will make writing the project plan and the subsequent bid writing so much easier.

• The possibilities are endless. However, it won’t work for those interminable committee decisions such as what colour to paint the toilet doors. ‘100 reasons why…’ in those instances could become a test instead. Ask ‘Can we do ‘100 reasons why…’ ?’ and if the answer is ‘No’, then set a timer for making the decision, or get a list of options and move straight to a vote before moving on with life in general.

Be sure to re-visit your reasons list once in a while – affirmations are often invaluable.

Would you like to discuss your organisation’s decision making processes? Or perhaps you would like to discuss your ideas for using ‘100 reasons why…’ before you put them into action? Whatever it is, contact me and let’s discuss how I can help.