Welcome back to our Quick Tips series. This month, we explore a challenge that every business faces: decision making. Too often, organizations design their processes as if all decisions are the same. The result? Trivial matters drag on for weeks, while strategic choices are made with far too little structure.
The reality is that not all decisions are created equal. By recognizing four distinct decision types and aligning business process management (BPM) practices accordingly, leaders can improve both the speed and quality of outcomes.
Organizations frequently apply the same governance, approval steps, or workflows to every decision. That might feel efficient on the surface, but it often produces the opposite result: small, reversible choices get stuck in lengthy approvals, while major strategic bets don’t receive the depth of analysis they require.
Research confirms the impact. A McKinsey study found that 72% of executives believe bad decisions are as frequent—or more frequent—than good ones.
When organizations lack clarity on how decisions should be handled, performance and agility both suffer.
Treating all decisions alike creates familiar bottlenecks: endless meetings without a clear decision owner, strategic topics escalated unnecessarily, and operational issues that drag senior leaders into the weeds.
The result is what some executives call decision diseases:
The answer lies in distinguishing between different decision types and shaping BPM processes around them.
What they are: Rare, high-impact decisions such as acquisitions, market entries, or major investments.
BPM implication: Model these decisions with clear milestones, an executive sponsor, and transparent dependencies across the organization. Break complex choices into stages and create defined gates for evaluation.
Value: This structure ensures strategic focus, minimizes blind spots, and builds organizational commitment once a decision is made.
What they are: Frequent, multi-stakeholder decisions like pricing strategies or new product launches.
BPM implication: Define roles, map handoffs, and establish collaboration points without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. Simulate real scenarios to test whether the process works under pressure.
Value: Well-choreographed processes reduce silos and align departments, leading to faster and higher-quality outcomes.
What they are: Routine, low-stakes choices such as approvals, hiring decisions, or resource allocations.
BPM implication: Push these decisions down to the right level of the organization. Set clear thresholds for when escalation is required. Use automation and AI where appropriate, but maintain transparency and accountability.
Value: Leaders free up time for strategic work, employees gain ownership, and operations move more quickly.
What they are: Spontaneous, episodic decisions that arise without warning.
BPM implication: Instead of ignoring them, design lightweight documentation and feedback channels. Capture what was decided, why, and the outcome.
Value: This prevents knowledge loss, highlights recurring patterns, and feeds continuous improvement in both processes and decision culture.
Effective BPM is not just about workflows and approvals — it’s about structuring how decisions are made. By aligning processes with the four decision types, leaders create clarity, speed, and accountability.
The takeaway is simple: decision making is most effective when processes match the stakes, frequency, and scope of the choice at hand. Organizations that recognize this can transform decision making from a source of frustration into a driver of performance.
Quick Tip: Reflect on your current processes. Where might tailoring by decision type improve both speed and quality?
The four types are: Big Bets (strategic high-stakes choices), Cross-Cutting Decisions (cross-functional decisions), Delegated Decisions (routine decisions), and Ad-hoc Decisions (spontaneous choices).
Not every decision has the same impact. Classifying decisions helps design processes that are more efficient, targeted, and effective.
BPM provides structure through milestones, clear accountability, and decision gates, ensuring that major investments or transformations are managed effectively.
By documenting spontaneous decisions, organizations prevent knowledge loss and can identify patterns that improve processes over time.
Automation and AI help accelerate routine decisions by following predefined rules and thresholds, while leaders maintain oversight and accountability.