Today I want to talk to you about the MAST cycle and long-term decision making. Now, as a leader you make decisions every day. Some of those decisions can be made immediately because they require immediate response, but others you can take a little bit more time to process before moving forward. For those decisions, we want to use the MAST cycle from the book Nimble, because I think it will be really helpful. Let’s take a look.
First, we want to map out the terrain. We want to examine our environment and know what’s there. We want to know where the pitfalls are and where we have smooth ground to walk on.
Next, we want to assess. Based on your map, what are your strengths and weaknesses when you approach this decision?
Then, we want to move into strategizing. Now, strategizing is based on those strengths and weaknesses that we’ve identified. What strategy will be best to help you move forward in this decision?
Lastly, we want to make sure that we test this. If it’s a long-term decision, we want to test the strategy before we fully implement it. This will help you to see the impact before a major decision takes place. If you uncover obstacles, you may roll it back, or you may want to reevaluate that strategy.
Now that you understand the MAST cycle and long-term decision making, what are you going to do about it?
