The Decision Speed Model
- Max Bowen
- Nov 7
- 2 min read
Most organisations don’t fail from bad decisions — they fail from slow ones.
Why this matters
Strategy collapses when decisions take too long.Executives are now measured on decision velocity, not just insight quality.
This framework helps strategy teams reduce “smart stalemates.”
The model (clean and effective)
1) Categorise every decision into three types
D1 — Strategic & irreversible (≤30 days)M&A, major investments, platform choices.
D2 — Significant but reversible (≤14 days)Org shifts, pricing tests, operating model tweaks.
D3 — Operational (≤7 days)Workflow changes, tooling, approvals.
Giving decisions a deadline forces momentum.
2) Require an 8-line decision memo (no deck required)
Before deciding, the owner answers:
What decision are we making?
Why now?
What options exist? (max 3)
What evidence do we have?
What are the risks?
What’s the expected outcome?
Who owns it?
When will we check if it worked?
This forces clarity without bureaucracy.
3) Maintain a Decision Log
A simple spreadsheet or Notion board:
Decision
Type
Owner
Due date
Date resolved
Check-back date
Status
Notes
Reviewed weekly.
Real example (anonymised)
A large retailer implemented this after a stalled “AI in stores” program.
Result (90 days):
Average decision time dropped from 42 days → 11 days
7 blocked workflow decisions unblocked
2 failing pilots shut down
CFO praised clarity of rationale
Outcome: Decision velocity became a cultural norm.
What “good” looks like
No D3 decision takes more than a week
Leadership sees fewer escalations because clarity improves
Teams present options, not problems
Decisions are reversible by default unless truly strategic
Common failure modes
People label everything as “strategic”
Memos become long papers
No clear owner
No scheduled check-back
Leaders avoid killing weak initiatives
Two metrics that matter
Decision-to-action gap: decision made → resources moved
% SLAs hit: organisations that hit 80%+ SLAs execute far better
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