Cogent approach for Decision Making– Valluvan Way!

What is meant by decision making? What are the things to be given proper weightage before making a right decision? And what must be done mandate after making a right decision?
I have pointed out three Kurals (a small drop from an ocean of examples) in order to answer the above questions.

• Vital role of Planning:

Think, and then dare the deed! Who cry,
'Deed dared, we'll think,' disgraced shall be. [Kural - 467]

Hundreds of decades before the Kaizen is introduced, Valluvar has given the steps for making a right decision. A good manager must give foremost importance to planning. As the adage goes, a well-planned activity is always half-done. Starting point of planning is analysing the situation and the end point is prescribing the action to be performed on a step-by-step basis. In this Kural, Valluvar describes a person as disgraced, he who has undertaken action without proper ground planning.

• Ill-consequence of ‘Non-action’:

'Tis ruin if man do an unbefitting thing;
Fit things to leave undone will equal ruin bring. [Kural - 466]

Consider a person who has taken a wrong decision. Obviously, he will end up being guilty for his erroneous judgment. Now, consider another person who has taken the right decision after careful planning; but, he fails to put his ground-plan to action. Valluvar regards the latter as the guiltiest than the previous one. Famous management Guru Peter Drucker also stressed the same point in his books. ‘Greatness never lies with TAKING the right decision. In contrast, it always lies with DOING the right action based on those right decisions.’

• A blunder called ‘Delay after decisions’:

Resolve is counsel's end, If resolutions halt
In weak delays, still unfulfilled, 'tis grievous fault. [Kural – 671]

This is one of my favourites.
My suggestion is to make this Kural a legal act, make it compulsory to all the bureaucrats of our nation. If our politicians and the planning commission members are forced to act as per this Kural, then half of the underdevelopment in our country will be rooted up. People tend to put a lot of effort in the process of decision-making so that they eventually forget the main aim of decision-making, which is to perform the right action! You can take all the time in the world to make a decision. But once it is done, you must act. Any delays after that will depict fallacy in our integrity. No wonder about the integrity of our Government since, more than 72% of development plans are under pipeline for a long long time.

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