“Decisions should be pushed down as far as possible, to the level of competence. This allows senior managers more time for making decisions of a more complex nature”

— Robert Heller

Source: The Pocket Manager, (1987), p. 72

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Robert Heller 21

British magician 1932–2012

Harold Geneen (1910–1997) American businessman

Managing, Chapter Four (Two Organizational Structures), p. 69.

“Sometimes success isn't about making the right decision, it's more about making some decision.”

Robin S. Sharma (1965) Canadian self help writer

Source: The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life

“Socialists believe otherwise - a man is not competent enough to make decision should he use seatbelt, should he buy insurance, and the same man is competent enough to elect president and government.”

Janusz Korwin-Mikke (1942) polish politician

Source: interview in Tok FM radio

“We find that the manager, particularly at senior levels, is overburdened with work. With the increasing complexity of modern organizations and their problems, he is destined to become more so. He is driven to brevity, fragmentation, and superficiality in his tasks, yet he cannot easily delegate them because of the nature of his information. And he can do little to increase his available time or significantly enhance his power to manage. Furthermore, he is driven to focus on that which is current and tangible in his work, even though the complex problems facing many organizations call for reflection and a far-sighted perspective.”

Henry Mintzberg (1939) Canadian busines theorist

Source: The structuring of organizations (1979), p. 173

“Every time you make the hard, correct decision you become a bit more courageous and every time you make the easy, wrong decision you become a bit more cowardly. If you are CEO, these choices will lead to a courageous or cowardly company.”

Ben Horowitz (1966) American businessman

Fortune: "Ben Horowitz: There's a fine line between fear and courage" http://fortune.com/2011/08/05/ben-horowitz-theres-a-fine-line-between-fear-and-courage/ (5 August 2011)

“The fine art of executive decision consists in not deciding questions that are not now pertinent, in not deciding prematurely, in not making decision that cannot be made effective, and in not making decisions that others should make. Not to decide questions that are not pertinent at the time is uncommon good sense, though to raise them may be uncommon perspicacity. Not to decide questions prematurely is to refuse commitment of attitude or the development of prejudice. Not to make decisions that cannot be made effective is to refrain from destroying authority. Not to make decisions that others should make is to preserve morale, to develop competence, to fix responsibility, and to preserve authority.
From this it may be seen that decisions fall into two major classes, positive decisions - to do something, to direct action, to cease action, to prevent action; and negative decisions, which are decisions not to decide. Both are inescapable; but the negative decisions are often largely unconscious, relatively nonlogical, "instinctive," "good sense."”

Chester Barnard book The Functions of the Executive

It is because of the rejections that the selection is good.
Source: The Functions of the Executive (1938), p.194, as cited in in Albert Lepawsky (1949), Administration, p. 626