Taming the decision making process – what every Hotel Owner should know
Most owners likely assume that they have a project decision-making protocol in place, or they may not even think of it at all since it seems such an obvious and low priority consideration. But in my experience, it’s one of the most important keys to achieving a unified team and an efficient project flow. And it’s simple, simple, simple.
It starts with identifying the final decision-maker on the client and operations side. This is both easy – and hard. You must identify the one, and it can’t be design by committee, either. I think probably everybody has seen design by committee as a recipe for slow-moving disaster. What happens is, the group is not managed. Decisions roll around because no one person is really authorized to step up and make a call. Nothing gets resolved, and ultimately the time runs out and you're left with, "Well, I guess since we have no time left, we have to go with whatever we think is the least offensive option." It's honorable not to step on toes, but in the long run, it hurts the team and the project. In this scenario, precious time has been wasted, and the final decision is made based on time available, rather than what is best for the project. Identifying the key decision maker at the outset and not wavering from that would have made an important difference.
The next factor in a decision making protocol is to make sure the decision maker and any of the other stakeholders can give 100% participation, or very close to it. However, if the decision maker, if the one, can't be present, it’s equally important to identify a second who can step in and keep the project pace. In the sports world, it’s said that the team that dictates the pace dictates the game. I think this metaphor applies to our industry as well. If you can keep a pace, you can accomplish amazing things. You can mobilize teams. You can create projects that shouldn't have been able to be done, and have them be successful. I think controlling pace is a big deal.
And there is more than pace to the “100% participation” factor. It has to do with commitment and good decision-making. As an owner or as a decider, your team is depending on you to make decisions. They respect it if you do, and they know it if you don't. We had an opportunity a number of years ago to participate in a paid competition for a large renovation project. We went in with beautiful boards. We had an amazing presentation. There were seven executives in attendance from this ownership group. As we began to present, one would get up and leave, and then come back. Another one would get up and leave, and then come back. And so began the rotating cycle of absentee clients.
At the end of the presentation, not one single person that we were presenting to had seen the entire presentation all the way through. There was no continuity. There was no knowledge. There was no basis of understanding the design. The good news is, we didn't get the project. But what that told me about that company was their commitment level and their organization. No one person was on point. Honestly, I don’t know how any one of them made an informed decision.
The last key to a solid decision making protocol is the opposite of the “100% participation.” It’s the mystery stakeholder. Mystery stakeholders show up unannounced; they show up uninvited; they show up anonymously; they show up in spite of not having been involved in any previous meetings. And they show up because they are now ready to make a difference. We had this particular experience on a model room review, and a mystery guest showed up. Only one person who knew who it was. As that person began to speak, regardless of not having attended any previous meetings, he completely derailed what was otherwise a successful model room review, to the tune of three additional hours of time. After the review, because ownership did not have a clear protocol, we spent three weeks of the project’s time retooling and taking things off the track. Finally, the ownership stepped in to exercise their decision-making right and put a stop to the derailment, and we were happily on our way again. Mystery stakeholders are not in the project’s best interest (unless they’re providing courtesy bids or some other type of specialized expertise), and it's best to deal with them quickly and decisively.
Clear decision-making protocol. It saves everyone time, keeps them going in the same direction, and minimizes conflict and other superfluous activities. And it costs nothing except the time required to iron out the details. Who wouldn’t want this?
