President Obama"s Decision-Making Processes
Several times during his transition, President Obama emphasized how his new administration would make decisions and his words have profound implications not only for governing within the White House and Congress but also for all of us who lead through education.
When asked by a reporter about criticisms of his pending economic stimulus package, Obama said several times, "We're open to good ideas.
" Anybody who can generate an idea or solution and indicates how it will work to get Americans back to work is welcome.
"Show me," he kept saying.
Show me how this plan will create new jobs or save existing ones.
Present the data that support your idea.
It doesn't need to be my idea, he said.
We need to move away from the culture of "Whose idea is it?" Said President Obama, "There's no pride of authorship" in his administration.
We must abandon what he called the ideology of ideas-those stemming from a long held system of ideas clearly articulated by a group of individuals.
President Obama is presenting us with a process of rational problem solving through open discussion, debate and listening to proposals that might be contrary to accepted wisdoms within his administration, ideas that challenge conventional wisdoms.
This means his intention is not to push forward his agenda only but to realistically identify the problematic situation we are confronting, generate lots of different solutions and select those that have some reasonable expectation of working.
One imagines that decisions will, henceforth, be data driven.
That is, we will opt for those solutions that have had some observable results, and if they haven't been tried before we have some research that suggests they most likely will.
We find such data-driven decision making within the realms of medicine and business, for example, as well as in education.
Any citizen, of course, can examine the first major piece of legislation, the Stimulus Package, to determine if the President followed through on his pledge to go for the best ideas.
Most Democrats think so; only three Republicans agreed with the majority.
How different our problem solving ought to be from the way the whole economic meltdown has been handled for the past decade.
President Obama noted that there hasn't been a whole lot of "adult supervision" out there amongst legislators, bankers, regulators and money managers-both Democrat and Republican alike.
What we have seen is people acting out of their own self-interest, not thinking ahead to what might be the consequences of granting mortgages to customers who do not have the means to pay for them.
Even today we have marketers selling mortgages on television for those of us with low credit scores requiring little or no documentation.
This unwillingness or inability to project logical consequences into the future results from greed, shortsightedness, lack of experience, immaturity and, least likely, the inability to think and plan ahead.
What we need is a new citizenship-one that demands not only accountability but also integrity when it comes to dealing with our fellow citizens.
This means we need to educate all who would become managers, leaders and CEOs in the ethics of acting, not in one's own self-interest, but in the best interests of the collective, the community, and in the well-being of the country as a whole.
This is what the President meant in his Inaugural when he called us all to "a new era of responsibility, a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, to our nation and the world.
.
.
" One of the responsibilities of this new citizen of the 21st century is to follow Machiavelli's admonition to all those who govern: be a great asker and a good listener to the truths that are told them.
What the prince needs is men and women who ask what former Senator from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel, always called the "tough questions" about philosophy, policy, practices and the effects they are likely to have on the future of our country.
Too much to ask for? No, because we do have evidence that such citizens do exist: John V.
Negroponte, our first Director of National Intelligence, in 2006 instituted the first "red cell analysis" teams designed to act as Devil's Advocates within intelligence decision making processes.
As such they would be called upon "to see if we can prove the reverse" of what is being advocated as the best interpretation or proposed action.
Managers in excellent companies already use a Devil's Advocacy strategy in making long-term decisions.
Imagine if we had "red cell analysis" teams on Wall Street and they were known to be far more objective about investigating firms, policies and practices involving our financial planning.
Imagine if we taught all of our students to be mindful of ideas and arguments contrary to our own! Dr.
Sally K.
Ride, after reviewing the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in 2003 noted, "One of the requirements of NASA manager is to be inquisitive to a fault.
You must ask and ask and ask.
" She told me this precept applied to managers in all walks of life.
Imagine if those who bundled the securitized mortgages, who also approved the credit default swaps had managers who asked and asked and asked about the benefits and long-term drawbacks of these instruments.
And imagine if we had had somebody at the head of the Federal Reserve, at the SEC, as Secretary of the Treasury or any other responsible position, who kept asking about the wisdom of engaging in these kinds of borrowing and mortgaging our futures! And just imagine teaching all of our students to "ask and ask and ask" in all subjects to solve mysteries and figure out amazingly fascinating problematic situations we find therein.
The native American Iroquois Confederacy had a saying "In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.
" Imagine the 21st century leaders in all walks of life-family, education, business, military, media, the arts and sciences--acting from the foundation of this wisdom! Perhaps we need a Future's Advocate for this role.
, asking "What if.
.
?" President Obama noted, "The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking.
You start engaging in group-think.
" What we need "is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives-from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry-an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.
" In proposing changes to our health care system, the President vowed to make decisions on the basis of "evidence, data and what works.
" We are all watching to see how this affects policy decisions in education, health care and the economy.
Here is a call for us to educate our students for the 21st century-to be inquisitive to a fault, to be problem posers and solvers who look for those "good ideas" based upon hard data, to become more independent from pre-conceived ideas of the way things should be, and to liberate ourselves from the "small thinking" that is unaware of the fascinating alternatives to any problem if we use our imaginations to generate them.
President Obama may be one of the first presidents to model good thinking and reasoning for the entire country.
Seldom have we had a president set for us such a magnificent and shining-on-a-hill example of what we should be teaching in all our classrooms-good problem solving, challenging common wisdoms and always being "inquisitive to a fault.
" Obviously, many do and will continue to disagree on the solutions revealed by the President's problem identification.
Some charge he is leading us toward increased "socialism.
" Regardless of one's agreement or disagreement with his final policy positions, perhaps we can all appreciate his attempt to base good governmental decisions on "evidence, data and what works.
"
When asked by a reporter about criticisms of his pending economic stimulus package, Obama said several times, "We're open to good ideas.
" Anybody who can generate an idea or solution and indicates how it will work to get Americans back to work is welcome.
"Show me," he kept saying.
Show me how this plan will create new jobs or save existing ones.
Present the data that support your idea.
It doesn't need to be my idea, he said.
We need to move away from the culture of "Whose idea is it?" Said President Obama, "There's no pride of authorship" in his administration.
We must abandon what he called the ideology of ideas-those stemming from a long held system of ideas clearly articulated by a group of individuals.
President Obama is presenting us with a process of rational problem solving through open discussion, debate and listening to proposals that might be contrary to accepted wisdoms within his administration, ideas that challenge conventional wisdoms.
This means his intention is not to push forward his agenda only but to realistically identify the problematic situation we are confronting, generate lots of different solutions and select those that have some reasonable expectation of working.
One imagines that decisions will, henceforth, be data driven.
That is, we will opt for those solutions that have had some observable results, and if they haven't been tried before we have some research that suggests they most likely will.
We find such data-driven decision making within the realms of medicine and business, for example, as well as in education.
Any citizen, of course, can examine the first major piece of legislation, the Stimulus Package, to determine if the President followed through on his pledge to go for the best ideas.
Most Democrats think so; only three Republicans agreed with the majority.
How different our problem solving ought to be from the way the whole economic meltdown has been handled for the past decade.
President Obama noted that there hasn't been a whole lot of "adult supervision" out there amongst legislators, bankers, regulators and money managers-both Democrat and Republican alike.
What we have seen is people acting out of their own self-interest, not thinking ahead to what might be the consequences of granting mortgages to customers who do not have the means to pay for them.
Even today we have marketers selling mortgages on television for those of us with low credit scores requiring little or no documentation.
This unwillingness or inability to project logical consequences into the future results from greed, shortsightedness, lack of experience, immaturity and, least likely, the inability to think and plan ahead.
What we need is a new citizenship-one that demands not only accountability but also integrity when it comes to dealing with our fellow citizens.
This means we need to educate all who would become managers, leaders and CEOs in the ethics of acting, not in one's own self-interest, but in the best interests of the collective, the community, and in the well-being of the country as a whole.
This is what the President meant in his Inaugural when he called us all to "a new era of responsibility, a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, to our nation and the world.
.
.
" One of the responsibilities of this new citizen of the 21st century is to follow Machiavelli's admonition to all those who govern: be a great asker and a good listener to the truths that are told them.
What the prince needs is men and women who ask what former Senator from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel, always called the "tough questions" about philosophy, policy, practices and the effects they are likely to have on the future of our country.
Too much to ask for? No, because we do have evidence that such citizens do exist: John V.
Negroponte, our first Director of National Intelligence, in 2006 instituted the first "red cell analysis" teams designed to act as Devil's Advocates within intelligence decision making processes.
As such they would be called upon "to see if we can prove the reverse" of what is being advocated as the best interpretation or proposed action.
Managers in excellent companies already use a Devil's Advocacy strategy in making long-term decisions.
Imagine if we had "red cell analysis" teams on Wall Street and they were known to be far more objective about investigating firms, policies and practices involving our financial planning.
Imagine if we taught all of our students to be mindful of ideas and arguments contrary to our own! Dr.
Sally K.
Ride, after reviewing the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster in 2003 noted, "One of the requirements of NASA manager is to be inquisitive to a fault.
You must ask and ask and ask.
" She told me this precept applied to managers in all walks of life.
Imagine if those who bundled the securitized mortgages, who also approved the credit default swaps had managers who asked and asked and asked about the benefits and long-term drawbacks of these instruments.
And imagine if we had had somebody at the head of the Federal Reserve, at the SEC, as Secretary of the Treasury or any other responsible position, who kept asking about the wisdom of engaging in these kinds of borrowing and mortgaging our futures! And just imagine teaching all of our students to "ask and ask and ask" in all subjects to solve mysteries and figure out amazingly fascinating problematic situations we find therein.
The native American Iroquois Confederacy had a saying "In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.
" Imagine the 21st century leaders in all walks of life-family, education, business, military, media, the arts and sciences--acting from the foundation of this wisdom! Perhaps we need a Future's Advocate for this role.
, asking "What if.
.
?" President Obama noted, "The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking.
You start engaging in group-think.
" What we need "is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives-from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry-an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.
" In proposing changes to our health care system, the President vowed to make decisions on the basis of "evidence, data and what works.
" We are all watching to see how this affects policy decisions in education, health care and the economy.
Here is a call for us to educate our students for the 21st century-to be inquisitive to a fault, to be problem posers and solvers who look for those "good ideas" based upon hard data, to become more independent from pre-conceived ideas of the way things should be, and to liberate ourselves from the "small thinking" that is unaware of the fascinating alternatives to any problem if we use our imaginations to generate them.
President Obama may be one of the first presidents to model good thinking and reasoning for the entire country.
Seldom have we had a president set for us such a magnificent and shining-on-a-hill example of what we should be teaching in all our classrooms-good problem solving, challenging common wisdoms and always being "inquisitive to a fault.
" Obviously, many do and will continue to disagree on the solutions revealed by the President's problem identification.
Some charge he is leading us toward increased "socialism.
" Regardless of one's agreement or disagreement with his final policy positions, perhaps we can all appreciate his attempt to base good governmental decisions on "evidence, data and what works.
"
