More Theoretical Alternatives Than Real Ones; or, Something Your Affirmative-Action Hires Can Safely Be Given to Do
7th November 2025
Build decision matrices! These are grids with a small set of proposed options or courses of action on one axis, and a comparably small set of criteria or goals on the other. Each cell is then filled with some quantity or adjective. If the latter, you – or your underlings – can discuss ‘em indefinitely. But even numbers can be debated. In the end, not that there’s much expectation of reaching one, you either tote up those numbers or just color-code the most positive descriptors and, uh, I don’t know, Go Green or something.
Not having worked anyplace with a strong affirmative-action impulse, I do not know if companies that do honor or obey such fashions do things this way. Anyway, I was motivated to look up what such graphical tools are called because I had, indeed have had several times over the years, a similar idea, that of drawing 2×2 grids and laying out all possible consequences – presumably 4. What has interested me is, there aren’t always even that many!
Which suggests that I make my own decisions just too darn complicated. Or, the decision to use this sort of tool was itself a bad one. Such appeared to be the case when, a few months ago, I planned my drive into Mexico with Big Bend as the target. There seemed to be two routes, one west, the other south and then northwest. Which to choose? Or could I choose both? If I got way out on one and then found it was impracticable, would I be willing to backtrack and then try the alternative? Here is the real art of the graphical solution: deciding what exactly is on each axis. I never did. I wound up simply going and looking!