How Great Decisions Get Made: 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues

This book comes recommended by Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World which in turn inspired Robert Buckman, CEO of Buckman Labs, to write Building a Knowledge-Driven Organization. These two books, and two others, Clayton M. Christensen & Michael E. Raynor, The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (Collins Business Essentials) and Steve Denning's The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations (KMCI Press) combine with this one by Don Maruska to offer a perfect small library for any person desiring to advance "collective intelligence" and "smart teams." Some may consider the book simplistic, but I do not. It has just the right amount of text and white space, and its organization as well as its points are compelling. When the author itemizing the obstacles to cooperation and information sharing: battling egos, conflicting styles, lack of commitment and follow-though, office politics, knee-jerk actions, seemingly irreconciliable differences, an atmosphere of defeatism (or a culture of unfounded arrogance), and a legacy of distrust, he is talking about the $70 billion a year U.S. Intelligence Community that I am so familiar with, and he is probably also talking about the Department of Homeland Security, every local, state, and national organization associated with the catastrophic failure to cope with Hurricane Katrina, and just about any corporation or other organization out there. His ten easy steps merit listing here, not to rob the book of its punch, but to emphasize that each chapter on each of these steps is hugely sensible, implementable, and profitable: 1( enlist everyone including secretaries and maintenance folks; 2) discover shared hopes rather than differing problems; 3) uncover the real issues; 4) identify all options (in ignored foreign opinion, the US foregos most really implementable options); 5) gather the right information, and all of it; 6) get everything on the table; 7) write down choices; 8) map the solutions; 9) look ahead; and 10) stay charged up. These are NOT as simple as they sound, nor are they easily implementable without an understanding of the context and the methods that the author lays out in his coherent, concise, and comprehensible manner. His emphasis on full information, and exploring all the options ("look at the whole tree, not just the limb you are on" all resonate when one thinks about how badly the US has screwed up the so-called "Global War on Terror." First we cut taxes, gutted the Treasury, installed political cronies in key organizations that in turn drove out all the experts long ready for retirement; then we alienated all our allies, provided special tax deductions on gas guzzlers, and invaded Iraq under false pretenses. Now we are creating more terrorists every day than we are able to kill in a year. For a specific sense of how pathetic our national-sec

I think Don's work is one of the most useful "life affirming tools" I have encountered in my 35 year career. It is useful not only in business, but also in family life with spouse and children. I highly recommend his book and methodology to all who want to simplify their life but also be responsible for their actions. I loved it!

As an organizational consultant myself, I know how hard it is for people to understand each other's viewpoint and see how it can mesh with their own. Don's ideas are immediately useful, and I put them into practice the very next day after reading the book -- to great success!

Don Maruska has been an "agent of hope" for organizations of all varieties for many years, particularly here on the Central Coast of California. Over the years, readers of Don's "Business Success" columns in Knight Ridder newspapers have been able to sample from a variety of "hors d'ouevres" from Don's wit and wisdom. Some of us have even settled down to a full-course entree through his extensive consulting for businesses, non-profits, and government agencies of all sizes. But in this book, we can all partake of a veritable feast of great ideals, with a menu built upon a systematic and methodical program for putting those ideals into practice. The essence of Don's message is that all worthwhile human endeavor requires a partnership of interests. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "The good men may do separately is small compared to the good they may do collectively." Partnerships and collective action require that men (and women, of course) work together, and in working together they must take risks, and most of us are risk-averse. Don Maruska illuminates a systematic remedy for risk, and it lies in open communication based on a language of hope. Today's highly-charged media culture seems to foster a very different language, a language of scorn and spite and hatred, bred of a lust for conflict and blood - both literal and figurative. It is a truism that the pen is mightier than the sword, but these days, too many pens (and microphones) have been honed on the whetstone of fear. We no longer trust our adversaries to fight fairly; our politics have been darkened by poisonous accusations of corruption, treason, arrogance, slander, and lies. Rancor has replaced reason in virtually every meaningful political debate, and incivility is the rule rather than the exception. In this atmosphere of "mutual assured destruction," it is refreshing to find a book that seeks to turn us in a different direction - to transform the conversation from the ridiculous back to the sublime, where people can once again find common ground around common aspirations, and where political dialogue can once again take place upon a basis of trust and mutual respect. Don Maruska has given voice to a longing that lies within all of us, and we need but listen to that voice. If enough of us begin to listen, and to respond with the framework that Don has built for us, great things can happen. Great decisions await.

This book is a must read whether you make decisions as a family, in a corporate setting or in a community group.The books 10 easy steps of reaching agreement offers a fabulous methodology that helps groups attain their intended results. As an attorney and a businessperson, I have experienced failed efforts at conflict resolution. The existing system of dispute resolution is often more about winning and losing, then about resolving conflicts. Many a disagreement could have been resolved with the approach offered in this book. Rather then having only winners and losers - How Great Decisions Get Made offers a way to create winning solutions for all the parties. Similarly in business and personal negotiations people get pulled off their agendas and miss the boat - this book helps you stay focused by providing a process that enables and empowers the participants and supports a result that works for everybody.This exceptionally well written book offers a new and exciting way to successfully produce positive and effective outcomes when we need to reach agreements and we want to make great decisions.