When a decision is called for, there must be a problem to solve. If there are no problems, there’s no need for projects and no room for growth. Russ Ackoff’s writing about systems asserts that problems have five components: • A decision-maker • Elements of the situation that are controllable by the decision-maker • Elements which are out of the decision-maker’s control • Constraints • A range of possible outcomes When all five are present, we get to do our work. The work of making a decision. If they’re not present, then we don’t have a problem or a decision to make. We simply have a
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