If I distill my two engineering degrees and one management degree down to the one key lesson from each degree, it comes down to this basic difference:

• The Engineering degrees taught me how to take a complex problem and move towards its logical conclusion using a series of well defined steps. An engineering problem can be attacked by breaking it into smaller chunks and solving each ‘independently’. If you define the problem well and follow the steps accurately, you are reasonably sure to reach the correct answer.
• The Management degree taught me how to look at a complex problem and fit it into a pre-defined framework. The framework can help identify linkages among the various sub-components of the problem and provide a path towards a few possible solutions. At the end however, you may not have one single answer, rather an array of solutions. The final step is to convert this array of solutions into one or two possible actions, using some level of managerial intuition and judgement.

Given this fundamental difference, it is important to recognize the importance of ‘last mile’ judgement and intuition in a management decision making scenario. If an organizational leader can hone his judgement skills, it would give him a great boost in the ability to achieve successful outcomes from seemingly uncertain scenarios.

It is also important to note that very few people can make judgement decisions well from the get go. For the rest of us, we should put in specific routines in place to hone our judgement skills. For example, one can practice predicting the price of oil or the currency every week using a set of ‘rules’. We can define those rules for ourselves, but just the act of predicting an uncertain outcome based on a set of rules should help sharpen our judgement decision making skills.