In praise of the lowly 2-by-2

The 2-by-2, quad chart, or 2x2 doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves. It’s the lightest and easiest way of making a decision as a group that’s based on criteria. Sure, voting is faster, but voting relies on the group to have roughly similar knowledge and to place similar levels of importance on each of the options… which is rarely the case. 

After collecting all of the ideas from the group (ideally on sticky notes, one idea per sticky), ask the group to suggest two criteria by which they will judge the ideas. Let the group decide, but steer them toward lumping their criteria into the two major categories of IMPACT and IMPLEMENTATION. 

IMPACT-based criteria includes:

• How many people will this affect?

• How much money do we think this will bring in?

• How well will this help us achieve our mission?

• How big is the ROI? 

In short, IMPACT is the value-creating side of the equation. 

IMPLEMENTATION-based criteria include:

• How much the idea will cost

• How long the idea will take

• How many people will need to be dedicated to the effort

• How well our organization is tooled to support this idea

In short, IMPLEMENTATION is the resource-expending side of the equation. 

A few tips: 

• Have the group place all the ideas against one axis first, then move them along the other axis. In our experience, this is a lot faster than trying to consider both axes for each item.

• Have the group define the criteria as they go. Write specifics along the axes. 

• Once all the ideas have been placed, it’s STILL a good idea to follow up the result with a vote to check commitment. I once worked with a group that, after completing an impact-implementation matrix, decided to take on the tasks that were most difficult and would have the least impact. Why? Because they were mandated by law to do so: a criteria that didn’t show up on the 2-by-2.

• And if you’re interested in group decision-making tools, let’s talk. https://calendly.com/brian-lizardbrain/45-min-discovery-call