Step 5 in our process is a little different. It's last in the list, but since it's about making change stick you really have to think about it from the beginning, in parallel with the other steps. Even before undertaking Step 1, for example, it's important to determine which leaders will spearhead the decision effort and how you plan to engage the broader organization.

We've found that successful companies build a foundation for effective decisions by mapping out ambitious goals and involving influential leaders early on. They create and maintain momentum by celebrating early wins and nurturing the kind of viral takeup that builds enthusiasm for decision effectiveness throughout the organization—a step that's often aided by people who feel liberated from decision paralysis and spread the word. And they embed decision behaviors by helping people at all levels learn new decision capabilities, by sharing best practices, and by keeping close track of progress.

In MetLife's effort to improve its decision-effectiveness, for instance, key leaders such as the head of the company's Auto and Home business led the charge. These leaders established a step-by-step approach which made it easier for each business and function to apply best practices in its own part of the business. The Technology & Operations unit, for one, laid out a plan, appointed a rollout leader, and began redesigning its key decisions. As the new approach gained traction, people throughout the unit learned to make better decisions and make them faster, day in and day out.

Watch out for potholes! Of course, the road isn't always smooth. But the top performers manage to avoid the worst obstacles. Some of their hard-won lessons:

• Don't start anything you're not prepared to finish. One tech company undertook a six-month project to improve the decisions involving headquarters and its European team. The project's conclusion? Move more decision authority to Europe to speed up response times. HQ promptly nixed the whole thing, and many of the European leaders left the business within a year.
• Apply the tools to difficult decisions, not just the easy ones. Quick wins are great. But the real proof of the pudding is when a company applies these tools to contentious decisions, such as product tailoring or allocation of resources across markets.
• Don't fudge the people issues. Some folks may not adapt to the new ways of making and executing decisions. "You push gently at first, then less gently" says one executive. "You set targets that they can't achieve without changing."
• Cut bureaucracy—don't add to it. Remember it's the big decisions that matter. Don't assign RAPID roles for a decision, for instance, unless the value of the decision justifies that kind of formality.

In a large company, the change process can take several months to hit its stride. But once an organization begins to hum, once it learns to decide and deliver, the effect is dramatic. Things get done. Financial performance improves. People are motivated to come to work, because they know their energy will translate to prompt decisive action.

Your organization can be like this. It can be the one that stands out, the one that people want to be a part of. It can accomplish great things—starting with its next decision.