46 JULY 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Decisions by Tim Connor One of the biggest mistakes both new and experienced managers make is implementing top-down decisions which impact lower levels, departments, or individuals within the organization without discovering a bottom-up perspective on whether, or how those decisions will work in the long term. Time and time again in my consulting with clients, I have seen top-down decisions arrived at in the boardroom or on the golf course, implemented without any regard for the reality that existed within the organization. The effect of this approach when is comes to decision making, can negatively impact: jMorale jCommunication jPerformance jLoyalty jTurnover jCustomer Relations jProfits jSales Costs . . . and a whole lot more. I am not suggesting every decision made in an organization, department, division, or group should involve every employee’s concerns, attitudes, problems, wants, issues, or needs. I am suggesting if you want to get buy-in, acceptance, and ultimate success of your decisions, it is important to develop a strategy or management style that includes the reality of bottom-up feelings, attitudes, concerns, and real-world corporate, market, and competitive issues. The people who are closest to the customer, marketplace problem, issue, or vendor are in a much better position to know what will work and what won’t. To ignore their valuable upward feedback is to flirt with disaster. Here are a few thoughts to consider the next time you need to make an important decision which will impact customers, employees, vendors, or your position in the marketplace: 0 Ask yourself who will be affected by this decision. 0 Determine if you really have enough accurate information (bottom-up) to make a good decision alone. 0 Don’t assume the message you are getting from other managers is accurate. 0 Bypass your immediate level of employees and get to the workers who will implement this decision. What could their responses be? 0 Set up a team of employees to provide real-world feedback on the issue or problem. 0 Set up a system of accountability to determine why decisions work and why they don’t. If you will implement even only a few of the above suggestions, you will find your decision might not be different or better, but their results and outcomes will be. In His service, Tim Tim Connor may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 2025 Booth 402
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