This book is not about how to make strategic decisions. What it is about is how to more effectively establish a decision-making hierarchy and culture that will ensure the most effective execution of strategy. It does not matter whether the enterprise is a business, an institution or a governmental entity. The book is focused on principles of decision-making, practical ways to implement a decision-making culture, how to imbed the right concepts into day-to-day processes to ensure the right results, and finally, how to effectively communicate the accomplishment of goals and objectives within the context of strategy. The author suggests that "management is the art of creating a predictable result by making valid assumptions, based on old information, about random factors and future events, while depending on people." The most successful way to do this is by establishing valid objectives, setting realistic strategies for their accomplishment, and then defining compatible actions that will ensure success at every level of the organization. Such compatible actions must include appropriate action strategies, realistic process goals and meaningful process measures. The ultimate objective is to provide a framework for more effectively managing an enterprise by successfully linking business objectives and strategies to actual process-level operating behavior. The title, Strategic Decision Mastery, adequately captures the essence of the primary role of executive leadership. The essential challenge for executive leaders is to establish appropriate objectives, determine and set the strategies for the achievement of those objectives; and then cohesively lead a diverse group of people with dissimilar functional responsibilities toward the achievement of those goals. There is no doubt that strategy should be the prerogative of organizational leaders. However, strategic decisions, even though they are companion to the setting of objectives and strategies, are not always made at the executive level. People throughout an organization can make decisions that seem to be tactical or operational, but turn out to be strategic because of their unforeseen outcomes and consequences. This most often occurs when there is a lack of understanding about how everyday operational and tactical decisions affect the entity's true goals and strategy. Herein are presented some enduring and practical tools for understanding and succeeding, particularly in business environments where financial success is essential. Many of the ideas and concepts can be applied organizationally as well as individually for the mutual benefit of both. For executive leaders and managers the leadership and organizational principles advocated in the book may represent the right solution for establishing a performance excellence culture in their organization. It may be that readers find the one idea they have been looking for, but without the complicated philosophies and entanglements that so often prevent the practical and timely application of good ideas. Throughout you will find good ideas, sound practices, ways to communicate what you may have always been thinking, and, most importantly, a complete set of tools for building an organizational culture where strategic decision-making is understood, embraced and practiced by everyone. The concepts in the book present a solution that will facilitate success by building a unified decision-making structure from top to bottom that will enhance performance through identifying where strategic decisions need to be made, and ensuring that operational decisions promote the accomplishment of the entity's goals and objectives by being consistently compatible with strategies.
About the Author: Mr. Pulsipher was born and raised in Ogden, Utah. He holds both B.S and M.S. degrees in economics. He began his business career in finance and held several positions of increasing responsibility until he became a CFO at the age of 35. Over the course of 38 years in business he held positions as COO, CEO, CIO, EVP, and president of various publicly traded and privately held companies. He spent a number of years as a consultant, initially with Deloitte Haskins and Sells, and then independently working through an enterprise software company. His career spanned the years that included the introduction of the personal computer and the transition of technology from the back office to the front office. Computer-based capabilities exploded during this period. People performing business functions controlled results and more capability moved to the desktop. Throughout his career he embraced technology and was involved in the definition and development of significant functionality for improving business results. As a consultant, he helped companies and executives realize the potential for more fully utilizing their existing computer capability. The emphasis of his endeavors has always focused on improving operating performance by creating more effective ways to manage all of the segments of a business enterprise. He helped a number of companies adapt enterprise software to more effectively manage profitability through process improvements and by relying on computer-based capabilities. He developed a methodology for analyzing an enterprise's business processes from end-to-end, condensing the findings of the analysis into meaningful improvement opportunities, and then leading the executive management team through a process that identified and prioritized their most important strategic initiatives. He and his family have lived in Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, California, Florida, Wisconsin and North Carolina where they currently reside. During his career he worked for an equipment manufacturer, an apparel manufacturer, a Fortune 500 conglomerate, a $1 billion education distribution company, and a privately held multi-product distribution company. He has participated in taking a company public, acquired companies, and led a leveraged buyout effort. It is his diverse background and interest in improving an organization's performance through decision-making that resulted in the writing of Strategic Decision Mastery.