In short
Between the meeting and the result a decision passes five points. It has to actually be made, become someone’s commitment, turn into action, give a result that someone checks, and change the next decision. Name who owns each point and a break shows up before it costs money.
What this does not cover. Which gap matters most in your company. This is a working model from my practice, not a law, so check it on your own decisions.
The chain
Signal → Decision → Commitment → Action → Outcome → Learning. A signal is what you noticed. A decision is the option you chose, including choosing not to act. A commitment is who does what by when. An action is what actually happened. An outcome is what came of it. Learning is what changes next time.
Five gaps
- Discussed, not decided. Everyone left the meeting with their own version. A week later people remember different things. Check: can you say the decision in one sentence, including what you decided not to do?
- Decided, but nobody committed. There is a decision but no owner, date or success criterion. Check: who, by when, and how will we know it worked?
- Committed, but no action. The date passed and the task is still “in progress”. Check: what was the first step, and was it in someone’s calendar?
- Done, but no result. The action happened and the numbers did not move. Check: what result did we expect, and when do we look?
- A result, but no learning. Nobody compares the expectation with what happened, so the next decision repeats the mistake. Check: a review date and one sentence of learning.
How to see a gap early
- Keep a decision log: one line per decision, with an owner and a review date.
- Look through open decisions once a week. It takes ten minutes, not a meeting of its own.
- Compare words with the calendar: if a decision is a priority, it is in someone’s week.