RAPID Decision Making for Nepalese Startup and Entreprenuers

Decision making is an integral part of any business be it a startup or small or large enterprise. However, being a startup its even more crucial as it is very important for startups to make the right decision at the right time.

There might be different methods of how an effective decision can be made. Today, we would like to highlight about the decision-making model developed by Bain & Company which was introduced through an article published in Harvard Business Review, back in January 2006. You can click on the link below for the full article: Who has the D? How clear decision roles enhance Organizational Performance.

RAPID is an acronym for the different roles people can have or the activities they take on during the decision-making process. Each letter stands for a specific role or activity; however, people can have more than one letter assigned to them depending on the nature and context of the decision and the size of the group. So, what does each of these letters stand for? Let us explain the roles and activities in the order in which they likely will appear during any given decision-making process.

• R stands for "recommender" - the person who initiates or drives the process. The "R" is the "go to" person who sticks with the process from start to finish, ensure that others understand what they need to do, keeps things moving along. In other words, the "R" does most of the work to secure the decision.

• "I" stands for "input". An "I" must be consulted on a recommendation before a decision is made. Although an "I" has the right to be heard, he or she does not have a vote or a veto. Including someone as an "I" says that the organization values the facts and perspectives he or she brings to the decision.

• "A" stands for an individual who needs to "agree with" or "approve" a recommendation. An "A" is essential an "I" with more power; and "A" has a stronger voice during the recommendation process. An "A" who raises concerns with a proposal must work with the recommender to develop an alternative or elevate the issue to the person who will decide. Naming someone an "A" means that the organization needs their support. Generally, the more people with an "A", the more time and effort it takes to make a decision.

• "D" means "decide".  The "D" has final authority and is the only individual who can commit the organization to action -hiring someone, spending money or making a legally-binding agreement. Things get done only after the "D" gives the OK. Generally, D is one person. But if, for example, a board of directors has a parliamentary voting structure, then the "D" would mean the group of people who constitute the winning vote. (Occasionally, people with a great deal of power attempt to hide the fact that they are the "D" by saying that the final authority resides with a committee that they happen to lead. The process of implementing RAPID generally flushes such people out. Ultimately, if the committee head is the true "D", it's better to be explicit up front. Everyone knows where the power lies anyway.

• "P" stands for "perform". "Ps" are the people who carry out the decision once it has been made. Often, the individuals who are "Ps" are also "Is", for good reason. You've no doubt heard at least one person saying something like, "This is a mess. If only they had asked me before they decided. I could have told them.." It's unlikely that a "P" who is also an "I" will fell the need to say that.

So, let's think of an example of how RAPID works. Let's say startup has to make a decision to bid/not to bid on one of the Requests for Application (RFA) recently announced in the Nepalese Newspaper. And, the current organization structure of the startup has Board of Director lead by Chairperson, Technical Advisory Group, Managing Director, Project Manager, and few other support staff.

So, it will be the responsibility of the Managing Director (MD) of the StartUp to initiate the decision-making process. In a way, MD will act as "R". So, MD will have to consult with different experts in the field including finance and operations to see the viability of the projects. Different Experts here act as "I". Once the different ideas are generated, MD in consultation with "A" that can be Advisory panel for StartUp agree on one of the alternatives on how to respond to the RFA. Once that is done, Chairperson of the Board of Directors decides whether Bid should be submitted or not. Whatever, the final decision it will be the role of Project Manager "P" to execute the decision.

To get the most out of this decision-making tool, one should actually act as "R" and share the vision and mission of what needs to be achieved. Also, we should remember that this is not a communication tool but a tool to diagnose the bottlenecks in the decision-making process to make better, efficient and effective decisions that have shared accountability and individualized responsibility.