Step 2: Harvesting Organizational Knowledge

When making decisions or formulating strategic plans in situations where multiple external parties such as competitors and partners are interacting, it is typical for an organization to feel uncertain about the potential actions and reactions of other players.  Nevertheless, decisions need to be made and the only option for an organization is to attempt to make good choices based on the best information that they have available. The Open Options Process is specifically designed to help organizations make good and trusted decisions in situations where there is uncertainty about the interests and likely actions and reactions of competitors, partners, governments, regulators and other relevant external and internal stakeholders. 

The process harnesses organizational expertise and the key is to assemble a diverse “Issue Team” of executives, bringing together the best available knowledge about the issue.  The Issue Team should consist of the key decision makers that are responsible for implementing the resulting strategy, subject matter experts, and individuals that bring different opinions and perspectives on the issue.  It is typical for the Issue Team to include representatives from different parts of the organization that can contribute quantitative and qualitative perspectives on the matter.  Generally, Open Options has found that the broad spectrum of experiences from internal teams is sufficient to accurately model the issue.  However, if the team is particularly unfamiliar with a certain aspect of the issue, it can be valuable to bring in an outside expert.

Read About How Open Options Builds Consensus in Executive Sessions