Level up your strategic decision-making with The Uncertainty Project. A rich library and community for leaders, offering techniques, playbooks, and expert insights to navigate radical uncertainty.
๐๐ Hello Product Hunt Community! ๐๐
We're thrilled to introduce The Uncertainty Project! A library of techniques and playbooks for strategic decision making, as well as a newsletter covering thought-provoking research and insights.
โจ THE INSPIRATION:
The Uncertainty Project Team has spent time as product and cross-functional leaders at companies like Atlassian, Google, Cognizant, Thoughtworks, NVIDIA, and UserTesting.
Like many of you, we often found ourselves grappling with the complexities of strategic decision-making. The uncertainty, challenges, and communication problems that come with it can often feel overwhelming and crippling to teams.
In an effort to find techniques to help leadership teams make and communicate decisions effectively, the Uncertainty Project was born. We wanted to share these resources and learnings that not only help leaders navigate uncertainty but also harness systematic decision making as a strategic advantage.
๐ก THE IDEA:
Strategic decision-making is difficult to navigate and communicate effectively with your team. It can often feel like navigating a maze at night without a flashlight. So, we decided to create a resource library of playbooks and techniques that empower product and cross-functional leaders to make confident decisions quickly and effectively in environments of radical uncertainty.
๐ WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT:
Access to a wealth of resources on strategic decision making ๐
Learn from industry experts through guest posts and interviews ๐ฉโ๐ผ๐จโ๐ผ
Join a community of like-minded leaders ๐ค
We cover some familiar techniques like:
- Eisenhower Matrix
- Pre-Mortems
- RAPID
- Rumsfeld Matrix
- 'Even Over' Statements
And some that may not be as familiar:
- Nominal Group Collaboration and the Delphi Method
- Causal Decision Diagrams
- OODA Loop
- Belief Challenging
- Introducing Randomness in Decision Making
For those that are interested in exploring, discussing, and ultimately improving decision making in teams and organizations, we hope you join us! ๐ ๐ฎ
Canโt wait to try this. I became interested in structured decision making when my last startup hit a point where we started to encounter problems that were not covered by existing startup literature. I realised that the bigger challenge was not about how to apply the lessons of another startup, rather itโs about the mega skill of how to make a decision in the presence of extreme uncertainty and low information. After all innovation is about doing something for the first time, so there is by default no playbook to follow, except the skill of learning how to decide!
@guesto Incredible insight, Chris! I think you articulated the problem here better than we did ๐. It would be great to hear more about your experience and what you've learned. If you're open to it, maybe we can find some time to chat! I'll find you on LinkedIn reach out! ๐
Also, you might find some of the posts interesting here: https://www.theuncertaintyprojec...
One of the hardest areas of business - intentional strategic decision making - made less of a gamble and risk. With baked in feedback a core of its DNA, adding in the models/frameworks and the posts/discussions make this an invaluable part of any C-suite or Strategic decider's bizops toolchain.
@stephen_delaney Well said Stephen! I think this was one of the common themes we've come across in our conversations and research - making the implicit factors that drive decision making today (assumptions, beliefs, cultural norms, accountability, incentives, etc..) explicit so there can be systematic improvement.
Like you said, that starts to suggest that 'deciding how to decide' should be part of the 'bizops' toolchain. And at this point, when it's rare to see organizations focusing on systematic decision making (especially as there is a natural entropy of decisiveness as companies grow), it's an opportunity.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! It would be great to chat more! ๐
These ideas at the intersection of decision making and uncertainty feel so important for so many leadership roles. Excited to continue applying the ideas to day-to-day challenges, and share the experiences!
Per R.Burton MD, clarity is a mental sensation, not an objective determination, so I like that the focus here is on how to navigate uncertainty, not obtain certainty. Great stuff ๐
The Uncertainty Project