Smart Decision Toolkit Templates — Four Complete Well-Structured Examples To Guide You Towards Becoming A Smart Decision Expert

The Smart Decision Toolkit is based on the Fundamental Congruence Checklist which is a set of ten questions that helps you to be objective and open-minded in your decision making.

This approach enables you to broadly process information about anything in order for you to better understand the subject matter you are dealing with. It helps you to connect the dots so that you can see the bigger pitcure.

Listed below are the ten questions which needs to be answered before making any decision about anything which is important in your life, or which has a significant impact on your business operations.

The Smart Decision Toolkit Question Template

1) What is this thing? Who is this person?

2) What does he/she/it do and how? — What are the key result areas or objectives and how are they accomplished?

3) Why does he/she/it do so? — Why are those the key result areas, objective or purpose?

4) What happens if he/she/it does do not anything or does not perform as expected?

5) Where is this thing or person situated in the whole matrix — what position does he/she/it occupy?

6) Why is he/she/it situated there? — Why is he/she/it occupying that space?

7) What happens if he/she/it is completely removed, moved somewhere, misplaced or even altered?

8) Who is in charge of him/her/it and why? — Who makes he/she/it work as planned?

9) How is his/her/its effectiveness assessed? — How do I or other people know if he/she/it is effective or not?

10) What happens if he/she/it is effective or not — What are the related consequences?

This concept can be adopted by academics, training institutes, thinktanks, researchers and corporations as well as individuals who want to make smart decisions and take informed action.

Listed below are some examples of the Smart Decision Toolkit’s structured question and answer approach towards making decisions that produce the best outcomes.

In these examples, I will show you some important details that you must consider when making decisions pertaining to customer acquisition and service delivery as well as product design and crafting your mission.

Customer Congruence Checklist (Example 1)

1) What is a customer?

A customer is any person or organisation with the desire/means to buy your products (services) towards the satisfaction of their own needs and wants.

2) What does a customer do and how?

A customer buys your products and services or supports your cause using an agreed medium of exchange in a conducive environment.

3) Why does a customer do so?

He/she helps you to achieve your goals through patronage in exchange for his/her satisfaction that comes from using your product or service.

4) What happens if a customer does not do so or does not do it in the right way?

If you don’t have customers, you will fail to accomplish your mission because of lack of revenue and cash flow.

5) Where is a customer situated in the matrix of your business operations?

A customer is the central or core feature of the mission or is the basis of your existence as an institution.

6) Why does a customer occupy such a position in our business operations?

We consider customers to be central to your mission or very important in the dynamics of your business because they are the hinge and pivot of all your operations. Customers occupy the VIP section.

7) What happens if we change a customer’s position/value or if it’s no longer prioritized?

When a customer is no longer the central or focal point of your institution, you will lose patronage, revenue and relevance.

8) Who is in charge of customer relations in your organization and why is that so?

The entrepreneur is in charge of meeting the needs and wants of the Customer or Audience through delegation of duties and responsibilities to people in his team.

9) How is the effectiveness of your customer care assessed?

The correct treatment of your clients is seen through customer satisfaction, continued engagement and in the accomplishment of your set goals.

10) What happens if your customer care approach is effective or not?

If Customers are seriously considered and valued in the affairs of your institution, it means that success is guaranteed, but if they are not given the attention they really deserve, it means that you are doomed to stumble and fail.

Customer Service Congruence Checklist (Example 2)

1) What is Customer Service?

Customer Service is a process of humane & professional attention & treatment given to clients before, during & after a transaction. It includes the quality of the product & the approaches adopted during engagement.

2) What does it do and how?

When properly done through showing respect and appreciation, good customer service provision creates a beautiful shopping experience which guarantees sales and profits.

3) Why does it do so?

Good customer service is done in order to express gratitude to our clients & to build good relations which guarantees continued & profitable patronage.

4) What happens if it does not do so or if it does not do it in the right way?

If we do not exercise good customer service, our clients will end up shopping somewhere else out of frustration and we will lose revenue plus the business may close down. Entrepreneurs will lose profit, workers will lose jobs, and the government will lose tax.

5) Where is this component situated in the business anatomy?

On your Mission Statement, customer service is that unique approach which you adopt in your engagement with your clients. It is directly linked to the product and the customer.

6) Why is it situated there?

We link the customer service delivery element to our products and the market in order to create an effective & efficient interaction with clients which is mutually beneficial.

7) What happens if it is removed completely or if it is badly altered?

Without customer service (a properly defined way of engagement with customers), mission accomplishment becomes difficult or impossible.

8) Who is in charge of this component and why?

The Sales and Marketing team in consultation with the Executive is responsible for the creation & provision of good customer service approaches to our clients.

9) How is its effectiveness assessed?

Continued patronage is the best way to assess if our clients are happy with us or not. We can also do a market survey to check on what customers say about our service.

10) What happens if it is effective or not?

If we are not effective in our customer service provision, we need to engage in a serious customer relations training program. We also need to investigate the causes thereof.

Product Congruence Checklist (Example 3)

1) What is product?

Our product is the solution that we have devised in effectively and efficiently responding to the needs and wants of our target market.

2) What does it do and how?

It brings us revenue when people buy it to satisfy their needs and wants.

3) Why does it do so?

It must satisfy the needs and wants of our clients so that we can viably, profitably and sustainably continue operations towards the attainment of our grand mission.

4) What happens if it does not do so or if it does not do it in the right way?

# If a product does not satisfy customer needs & wants, it will not generate us enough revenue and profits, and thus, losses will be encountered.

# When such losses are encountered, it means there are possible dangers of company closure which can also result in loss of employment and loss of tax revenue to the national treasury.

# If you are not employed and the government is receiving less tax from the business community, it means there are less chances for getting social grants to the unemployed.

5) Where is this component situated in the business matrix?

On our Mission Statement, a product is directly connected to the target market and to the approach that we use to deliver it.

6) Why is it situated there?

A good quality product is critical in the affairs of any business because it makes us relevant. Our value to our target market is based on our ability to provide something that satisfies a need or want.

7) What happens if it is removed completely or if it is badly altered?

If we do not have a product at all, we will not be able to fulfil our mandate and if we have a wrong product, we are likely to face market resistance.

8) Who is in charge of this component and why?

The Executive is responsible for all aspects of the product through the various necessary departments that engage in production. The Sales and Marketing department is however responsible for the engagement with our target market.

9) How is its effectiveness assessed?

The product uptake by your market is a critical element in determining the effectiveness of the product that is being offered.

10) What happens if it is effective or not?

If the product does not satisfy customer needs, we will suffer losses and might have to improve it or discontinue the product right away.

Mission Statement Congruence Checklist (Example 4)

1) What is this?

It’s a Mission Statement.

2) What does it do and how?

It identifies and defines what you or your business is all about and what it is going to be in the near and distant future.

3) Why does it do so?

So that you can have a sense of purpose and direction in your activities in order to give you a personal or corporate identity.

4) What happens if you or your business does not do what is expected or if you do not do it in the right way?

You are likely to be easily distracted along the way and then fail to reach the perceived destination.

5) Where is the Mission Statement situated in your business or personal matrix?

You find it right at the beginning of everything (drawing board).

6) Why is it situated there?

It is the basis and reason for what you want to do.

7) What happens if you or your business does not have a Mission Statement or if it is not clearly defined?

You are likely to make random, haphazard, and wrong decisions which make you or your institution to lose an identity. You or your organization will be associated with confusion.

8) Who is in charge of a Personal or Corporate Mission Statement and why?

A Corporate Mission Statement is crafted by the entrepreneur or the executive. A Personal Mission Statement is crafted by you because you are the manager of your life.

9) How is its effectiveness assessed?

You assess its effectiveness by analyzing stakeholder responses to your initiatives.

10) What happens if it is effective or not?

When it is effective, it must be maintained or be continually improved in order to maintain relevance. If it is not effective, it can be re-designed to suit the reality.

The main advantages of this checklist as a decision tool are that the first three questions focus on clarity on the subject matter by shedding light on the definition, purpose and processes associated with whatever you are dealing with.

The focus on these three issues helps with assurance/confidence on the fact that whoever is making a decision is doing so on a subject that he/she clearly understands.

Question Four (4) on the checklist helps the decision maker to be open-minded enough to understand that despite good intentions, some missions fail, and thus, the mind should be prepared from the beginning to be accountable for such failures and to also come up with Plan B or even C.

The fifth, sixth and seventh questions on the checklist has a ‘Pareto’ effect in that it deals with essence and relevance as a way of evaluating the worthiness of consideration, adoption, and implementation on any subject matter.

These three questions focus on the assessment of importance. When you answer these questions, you will be able to understand if whatever you are dealing with is really worthy your time, money, energy and resources.

Question Eight (8) seeks to identify a person or group of people who are responsible for the implementation of a certain resolution, and also shows us those individuals that are tasked with the mandate of making sure that everything goes as planned (oversight).

The nineth and tenth question seek to address the issue of effectiveness, results and impact, since resolutions that are adopted without clarity on these issues are very costly in terms of time, energy, money and other resources.

The Smart Decision Toolkit ensures that people make openminded decisions and take informed action which they are accountable for and thus promotes the adoption and implementation of good morals and best Corporate Governance practices in both the private and public sector.

Those who make decisions without the use of any decision framework or toolkit, whether in their individual capacity or as a group in an organization tend to act whimsically (emotionally) than logically at the expense of their stakeholders i.e. family, friends, or shareholders.

For training and assistance on how to effectively use the Smart Decision Toolkit (Fundamental Congruence Checklist), contact me on — brian@briankazungu.com