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AA221 - Steve Jobs' Radical Decision-Making: Why Consensus Beats Disagree & Commit

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Manage episode 496028956 series 2986873
Content provided by Brian Orlando. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Brian Orlando or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Steve Jobs once said he'd rather fire someone than force them to buy into a decision they disagreed with. This flies in the face of popular leadership advice like Amazon's "disagree and commit" philosophy. In this episode, we dive deep into Jobs' consensus-driven approach at NeXT and explore why expert-driven decision making might be superior to top-down mandates.
We examine how Jobs' 8-person policy team made only 25 major decisions per year, the importance of psychological safety in decision-making, and why paying people to tell you what to do (rather than just do what you say) creates better outcomes. Other topics include...

  • Consensus vs. "disagree and commit" leadership styles
  • Expert-driven decision making vs. ivory tower decisions
  • Building psychological safety for real alignment
  • Scaling decision frameworks in growing organizations
  • When to fire vs. when to coach through disagreement

Perfect for product managers, agile coaches, and leaders looking to build more effective decision-making processes.
#DecisionMaking #Leadership #ProductManagement
LINKS
Watch on YouTube

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com
REFERENCES

  • Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_W6dLP09MQ
  • Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon, by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr, 2021
  • Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders, by L. David Marquet, 2013
  • AA208 - Jamie Dimon's Rant: Leadership Lessons on Trust and Effectiveness
  • AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication & Management

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

  continue reading

Chapters

1. Steve Jobs Intro (00:00:00)

2. Source Video (00:01:21)

3. Get on Board (00:04:14)

4. Pushback on Consensus (00:08:03)

5. Analysis Paralysis (00:10:39)

6. Building Clarity (00:12:48)

7. The Policy Team (00:13:29)

8. Building Muscle (00:18:04)

9. Group Think (00:20:00)

10. One-Way vs. Two-Way Decisions (00:22:47)

11. Tell Us What to Do (00:25:19)

12. Expert Decision Making (00:27:04)

13. Publishing Industry (00:29:58)

14. Two Circles of Decision Making (00:32:07)

15. Decisions at the Team Level (00:36:18)

16. Start with Why (00:37:16)

17. Making Decisions (00:38:13)

18. Firing People (00:41:10)

19. Scaling (00:44:56)

20. Prepping to Decide (00:48:26)

21. Quotes in Summary (00:49:04)

22. Takeaways - Decision Making (00:51:16)

23. Wrap-Up (00:52:47)

231 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 496028956 series 2986873
Content provided by Brian Orlando. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Brian Orlando or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Steve Jobs once said he'd rather fire someone than force them to buy into a decision they disagreed with. This flies in the face of popular leadership advice like Amazon's "disagree and commit" philosophy. In this episode, we dive deep into Jobs' consensus-driven approach at NeXT and explore why expert-driven decision making might be superior to top-down mandates.
We examine how Jobs' 8-person policy team made only 25 major decisions per year, the importance of psychological safety in decision-making, and why paying people to tell you what to do (rather than just do what you say) creates better outcomes. Other topics include...

  • Consensus vs. "disagree and commit" leadership styles
  • Expert-driven decision making vs. ivory tower decisions
  • Building psychological safety for real alignment
  • Scaling decision frameworks in growing organizations
  • When to fire vs. when to coach through disagreement

Perfect for product managers, agile coaches, and leaders looking to build more effective decision-making processes.
#DecisionMaking #Leadership #ProductManagement
LINKS
Watch on YouTube

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagile
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596
Website: http://arguingagile.com
REFERENCES

  • Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_W6dLP09MQ
  • Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon, by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr, 2021
  • Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders, by L. David Marquet, 2013
  • AA208 - Jamie Dimon's Rant: Leadership Lessons on Trust and Effectiveness
  • AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication & Management

INTRO MUSIC
Toronto Is My Beat
By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)
CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

  continue reading

Chapters

1. Steve Jobs Intro (00:00:00)

2. Source Video (00:01:21)

3. Get on Board (00:04:14)

4. Pushback on Consensus (00:08:03)

5. Analysis Paralysis (00:10:39)

6. Building Clarity (00:12:48)

7. The Policy Team (00:13:29)

8. Building Muscle (00:18:04)

9. Group Think (00:20:00)

10. One-Way vs. Two-Way Decisions (00:22:47)

11. Tell Us What to Do (00:25:19)

12. Expert Decision Making (00:27:04)

13. Publishing Industry (00:29:58)

14. Two Circles of Decision Making (00:32:07)

15. Decisions at the Team Level (00:36:18)

16. Start with Why (00:37:16)

17. Making Decisions (00:38:13)

18. Firing People (00:41:10)

19. Scaling (00:44:56)

20. Prepping to Decide (00:48:26)

21. Quotes in Summary (00:49:04)

22. Takeaways - Decision Making (00:51:16)

23. Wrap-Up (00:52:47)

231 episodes

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