Decisioneering and the Tao of Star Trek
Things They Forgot To Tell Me in Business School

Top-level leadership is about decisiveness and the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively. It is also about intelligence, inspiration, support, communication, analysis, consistency, follow-through, endurance, timeliness, etc., but the act of decision-making tops the billing. It is a mathematical certainty that the larger the enterprise, the closer to zero percent total effort is contributed by its leaders, while the number of important decisions needed to keep the operation going grows apace. Thus, maximizing the effectiveness of managerial responses is of existential importance to all organizations. Even with the proliferation of rules-based and artificially intelligent decision support, critical ‘cross-road decisions’, and many others, still remain ours alone. And this makes it an intensely personal process. Students of the mind have known for ages past that the head, the heart, and the gut are the three driving forces behind all human decision-making.  (Okay, men have one extra spot just below the gut, but this is not germane for this discussion).  

The head, the heart, and the gut. Each with an opinion on all big issues in life, opinions diverging often and opposing when it matters most. What to do? It is all too difficult to decide between “Use your head!”, “Follow your heart!”, “What does your gut say?” Though we may recognize this roiling conflict within, articulating its nature is difficult. The following will help. 

The head is the logic center, the Spock character of the good-ship Personal Enterprise, while the heart is the emotional center, the Scotty, and the gut is the intuition center, the Kirk. Perhaps fittingly, Kirk is the Captain of the Enterprise, as intuition is the last remaining connection to our primitive, instinctual “fight or flight” survival mechanisms. But intuition is not one to sweat the details, so this is where the head comes in. Spock is the master of reason, and reason is what separates us from ‘lower-order’ mammals (well, that and opposable thumbs). Smart yes the head, but too clinical, and hopeless with the incalculable. Not to be trusted with big decisions, the head is a fabulous wingman but no lead. But what about your heart, you say, “Follow your heart!” Noble and romantic, fine in controlled circumstances, the heart is a fickle and inconstant ally, not to mention blind. Would you really want to careen through space/life with Scotty sitting in the big chair? 
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It is the rule of three, one checking the other, each giving it their best shot. But in the end, the gut holds the balance of power and must make the decision. And decisions leading to actions are what keeps life moving in a direction other than random. As the great modern philosopher, Yogi Berra once opined, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going because you might not get there.” So just decide, and leave Kirk in command of the bridge.