John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Effective Leadership

Idea 48: How to use analysis in decision making

An essential part of analysis is to be able to break the whole up into its component parts, particularly splitting complex matters into more simple elements.

The hallmarks of an analytical mind are that it:

• Establishes the relationship between the parts and the whole.
• Finds the root cause(s) of the problem.
• Identifies the issue(s) at stake, the ‘either/or’ on which a decision rests.

Analytical ability is improved by:

• Working from first principles.
• Establishing the facts and separating them from opinions, assumptions or suppositions.
• Asking yourself questions (as in ‘When did the problem first arise?’ as well as our six friends Who, What, Why, When, Where and How?).
• Continually checking the premise ...