I’ve heard it said that “successful” CEO’s make fewer decisions.

In the past this meant the executive would figure out what to do about a given situation and then simply apply the same rule for every similar case thereafter.

However, competitive advantage goes to the company that can also leverage distributed authority. This means empowering more decision making to take place on the front lines. It requires trust and placing an increasingly higher value on the human capital of the organization. This becomes even more apparent in the connected economy, where options and opportunities are immense. It also means that alignment to mission and culture must be greater.

It’s risky to try, but it seems riskier not to try.