How many times has a boss made a decision in a meeting, forgot they made it, and then it somehow came back to bite you? You have probably had experiences where you delivered a brilliant project or strategy, but the decision-maker unfathomably said, “No.”  The company struggled as a result, but that’s not the worst part!  The real “kick-in-the-face” came later when you got reprimanded for not preventing the poor outcomes that your proposal was designed to address. [Insert your favorite string of obscenities.] Stop getting blamed for the decision-amnesia of others. There are strategies you can use to protect yourself.

Strategies to stop getting blamed

This maddening situation has led to creative tactics to protect oneself.  One weapon of choice is the decision log.  It was originally developed as a communication and tracking tool in the project management world.  The project manager would log important decisions throughout the life of a project to track progress and keep leaders informed.   This created a record of dates, decision-makers, and what was decided. (source)

Don’t be deceived by it’s simplicity.  This tool can be wielded like a samurai sword when accountability is lacking.

Strategy 1:  Dissect the Decision

When a decision-maker says no, there is always a reason behind it (even if they aren’t saying it out loud).  It’s very rare that someone dislikes everything about a proposal.  Ask the decision-maker: “why,” as many times as needed to find out what they actually disagree with. 

Ways to ask “Why?” that won’t get you fired

• What makes you feel that way?
• Where do you see this process not meeting the goal?
• How close is this to a solution you would support?
• What can we do to strengthen this idea to get us to the goal?

How it helps you

This strategy helps you determine how strongly the decision-maker disagrees with your plan and tests if it can be adjusted to something they would accept. You might still be able to save the day rather than watch the company fall apart over a bad choice.

1. The issue may be small or something that can be fixed in a future iteration of your idea
2. A little extra dialogue may get everyone on the same page if your audience misunderstood
3. This will tell you (and everyone else in the room) if the nay-sayer actually has a real reason, or if they are just being difficult
4. It further demonstrates your efforts to fix the problem and may give you some useful nuggets to stop getting blamed in the future.

Never walk away from a rejected proposal without asking for details. Always find out “the why” as much as possible.

Related strategy: Get Time on a Busy Leader’s Schedule

Strategy 2:   Log Decisions as Publicly as Possible

All proposals, presentations, PowerPoint decks, etc. should include a blank decision log at the end.  It can be as simple as 3 blank columns for date, name of decision-maker, and the decision itself.  Skip ahead to the log whenever decisions are made. Make sure everyone can see it on the screen.  Allow your audience to watch you type the decision into the log, along with the person’s name and any highlights of what they didn’t like.

Wield Your Decision Log Like A Samurai Sword

Example Decision Log Entry

07/13/2020 – Kathleen Kantsayess – Voted No on repeating the strategy from last year that increased results by 28% and saved the company. Cited “can’t see why it would work.”

How it helps you

There is a psychological effect on the decision-maker when they see their name and decision being publicly typed on the screen in front of everyone.  They may see their choice displayed on the screen and suddenly realize that they weren’t actually saying no. Maybe they just had some questions or needed to discuss a section in more detail.

The action also demonstrates that their decision is being recorded and everyone will know who made it, even people who weren’t at the meeting.  This is the beginning of creating accountability.

Strategy 3:   Kick off Future Meetings with a Decision Log Recap

Most presentations are given as part of a larger meeting series.  Work with the meeting organizer (the person in charge of the presentation and agenda) to ensure that the next meeting starts with a recap of the decisions from the previous meeting.  This is an effecive way to start a conversation and remind the group of progress to date.

How it helps you

You are demonstrating that in addition to writing down decisions as they happen, you will also remind the group of those past decisions as a starting point for future discussion.

1. This reinforces the psychological accountability that when someone makes a decision, it will be written down, discussed more than once, and live on… forever. 
2. If no one has a better idea in the next meeting, they may want to revisit your idea.  There may be different decision-makers attending that weren’t there previously.  They also might not remember why they originally shot down your idea, which could prompt a follow-up discussion.

Strategy 4:  Attach the decision log to the agenda and future invites

Make the decision log readily available and widely distributed.  Most meeting invitations have an agenda attached to them (or at least they should have an agenda).  Ask the organizer to include the decision log with the agenda as a progress summary for attendees.

How it helps you

You are demonstrating that the decisions you wrote down will be redistributed throughout the company every time there is another meeting on the subject.

It’s a lot harder for someone to say you didn’t do your job when the evidence of your work (and who actually rejected it) shows up on all of the meeting invites and agendas going forward. Continue filling additional slots on the decision log by presenting revisions and new ideas to keep the business moving forward.

Creating Accountability Like Magic

The decision log strategies can help you stop getting blamed regardless of your role. 

• If you are in a staff role, you may need to team up with the meeting organizer to get a decision log added to the agenda and meeting invite.
• If you are part of the leadership team, you can request that a decision log be written down and made available. 
• When you happen to be the meeting owner or frequent presenter, you are probably presenting strategies and ideas constantly.  A decision log will help you keep it all organized AND protect you from someone else’s poor choices.

Get creative. If your company doesn’t use decision logs, have it added to meeting minutes.  Write an email to the decision-maker restating the decision and then asking to meet and discuss better options.  You might even have a little fun with this strategy if you find it makes the troublemakers squirm. Just remember that without documentation, the memory of the person with the highest rank becomes the reality you will be judged by. That is not a situation you want to find yourself in.

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