The Value of Decision Making: A LatAm Perspective

In the second half of 2023, Kingsley Gate conducted in-depth conversations with over 35 senior executives and board members across 11 Latin American markets (Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic). Our interviews not only confirmed the validity of the findings from our quantitative study with FT Longitude of the Financial Times Group (published earlier this year) but also elaborated on a number of driving forces, nuances, and exceptions to these findings.   Overall, we found that most senior executive participants not only believe that decision making is both a critical component of any leader’s mandate, but also that decision making does tend to look slightly different in a Latin American context.

 Most agree the path to improving a company’s decision effectiveness is through “human-centric” factors more so than data, process, and technology, and many are satisfied with their current roles and decision-making environments. There is a consensus that Latin American organizations are more creative in decision-making, but opinions vary on contributing factors to this creativity. The idea of “gut feeling” and its contribution to decision making generated rich discussion and debate, with various perspectives represented herein.