When is a Camel a Horse Designed by a Committee?

by Bert Shlensky | Dec 19, 2019 | Planning

Too many cooks spoil the broth. A child, looked after by seven nannies, is a child with one eye… Phrase it however you want, but when many manage one thing, some things are missed or turn out wrong. The camel analogy specifically criticizes committees and group decision making, implying that incompetence results when too many people are involved on a project. Therefore, the camel’s humps reflect bad planning and inept design when the original concept was a horse. 

These proverbs speak to a number of current issues regarding decision making, innovation, and performance. It’s worth asking: How disciplined, organized, programmed, and/or fact-based should decisions be? Or are we heading in the direction of unstructured, flexible, creative, and innovative planning?

Unfortunately, we tend to rely on preset parameters or stick to old habits rather than pursuing the most effective process. So, let’s explore some topics that can help you decide what the best plan of action might be for any given scenario:

Camel (Committee) Versus (Horse) Individualism

The simple answer is it depends. If you have a thriving company with ample market and internal capabilities, diversifying can be an exciting option. In particular, vertical and horizontal integrations can assist in achieving better use of your resources. Similarly, if you have operations or marketing capabilities, cooperation can be highly productive in better utilizing those resources.

In contrast, the less resources, knowledge, or experience you have with cooperation, the less you should do it. Diversification does not work effectively in business cultures that have no synergy. Similarly, cooperation frequently fails when it is done to solve or cover up weaknesses. The K-Mart and Sears merger is one of the best examples of failed diversification which was executed with poor management and a prayer that two losers would make a winner.

Innovation Versus Discipline

I believe innovation and discipline can coexist.  You simply need to focus on improving autonomy at all levels as you simultaneously increase discipline. For example, Google, among other big corporations, are developing artificial intelligence (AI) programs to write and develop artistic works like music and art. They argue that this technology will greatly enhance an artist’s ability to create. Others disagree, saying that it will just replace artists. My own experience in the knitting industry showed me that automation greatly enhances an artist’s potential and reduces mundane tasks. I believe that similar improvements are evident in areas like digital photography and animation.

George Bernard Shaw said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Similarly, Steve Jobs quipped that if he asked customers what they wanted; it would be obsolete before he got it on the shelves. So, it remains that innovation is a necessity, but if it’s unmonitored, you may end up with that pesky camel…

Focus Versus Diversification

Some businesses try to randomly pursue diverse options by simply throwing s**t at the wall and seeing what sticks. Others complete so much research and planning that, in the process, aspects like goals, probabilities, and outcomes are overshadowed or forgotten. Business owners need to identify priorities and focus. From there, test and adopt or change as opportunities or issues arise. It’s important to remember that many plans are based on wrong assumptions or are poorly executed and, therefore, do not succeed or are unable to adjust to change.

For example, I was working with a client who was trying to execute over 15 different educational programs and was stressed out, over budget, and not managing effectively. We simply cut out the least effective programs which saved money and, as a result, were able to allot additional attention and resources to the more effective ones. Focusing your strategy can be accomplished with a few simple efforts:          

• Measure, Estimate, Prioritize, and Adapt.
• Follow the 80-20 rule.
• Make mistakes and learn from them.
• Be open to change and feedback.

Experience and Expertise

In his book “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell became famous for stating that, “10,000 hours of practice are required to become a world-class expert.” I am not sure it is 10,000 hours, but my experience indicates that experience and expertise are probably the most important factors in achieving success. That doesn’t mean you need expertise in everything, but it does mean you need at least a hook in the field you are pursuing. And if you know you are lacking expertise in a critical area, I suggest hiring someone to help.

For example, right-brain creatives typically don’t like financial analysis so it’s usually a good idea for them to hire an accountant. In the last couple of weeks, I have had clients with seemingly great ideas and passion who overestimated their gross margins by 10-20%. They simply didn’t do the detailed financial work and didn’t understand that those numbers could make a huge difference between profit and loss.

This argument is in no way intended to ignore the importance of passion, commitment, innovation, testing, and even mistake making. I’m just saying that both individuals and organizations need to realistically assess the risk of failure and the reward of success. Expertise and experience are critical for accurately evaluating opportunities and new innovations.

Risk Evaluation

Are all of the features of a decision understood? Do you know the probability of reward, the amount of the reward, and the value of the reward? For example, what are the goals of your efforts? My clients are usually small businesses who need to make a profit and earn a living. Thus, they frequently pursue less risk. 

In contrast, venture capital firms are frequently pursuing growth and worry whether the enterprise will be large enough to generate large returns. Therefore, they expect a certain amount of loss as well as some lost investments in order to generate large growth and profits in other areas.

Analytics Versus Intuition

The increased use of analytics over intuition has been significant in improving the understanding and results of decision-making. This shift was greatly influenced by the growth and confidence in behavioral economics fostered by authors like Daniel Hahnemann, Richard Thaler, and Michael Lewis. While there are no quick and simple resolutions, there are a few simple rules to improve the decision process using both analytics and intuition. 

Analytics is simply the increased use of research, models, probability, risk, numbers, and analysis to improve decision-making. In some cases, it has proved to be a valuable tool to understand and improve decisions or simply validate prior intuition—particularly where there is plenty of stability and historical data. For example, I have helped several of my clients improve their businesses by focus on the 20 percent of customers or products, which we know, statistically, accounts for 80 percent of their sales.

Here are some simple guidelines to help manage decision making dilemmas:

• Understand goals, tasks, and complexity. For example, the more uncertainty and unclear information, the more you need to rely on intuition.
• Integrate the proper role of expertise. If you have complex tasks that require diverse resources, incorporate collaboration. If you have standout experts with extensive experience rely on their abilities. For example, I am always fascinated how surgeons and lawyers delegate tasks to paralegals and surgical nurses.  
• Test, measure, and adapt. Gather information, confirm ideas, adapt and improve winning ideas.
• Incorporate risk to evaluate the potential and results of success.
• Don’t be afraid to follow your passion, commitment, and instincts.
• Take a break. We are frequently too consumed and stressed with our tasks. We don’t take time to incorporate efforts like training, casual lunches, social events, new ideas, reading, and informal meetings into our routines. 

The goal is really to find a balance between group decision making and individual efforts so you don’t wind up with a camel when you wanted a horse. Recognize when analytics, facts, and research can improve your decisions. And don’t be afraid to follow your intuition when traditional answers don’t seem correct. Taking probabilities, risk, and values into consideration, you should be able to find some harmony between the two ends of the spectrum.

Dr. Bert Shlensky, president of www.startupconnection.net, offers experience, skills, and a team devoted to developing and executing winning strategies.  His books for the business entrepreneur: Marketing Plan for Startups and Small Business and Passion and Reality for Small Business Success, are available at www.startupconnection.net.