PDM
PDM — Professional Decision-Making
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Universities & business schools

Bring Professional Decision-Making into executive education.

A rigorous, teachable discipline for the decisions leaders actually make — developed by David Solomon over decades of executive development.
Discuss a program

01What PDM is

A disciplined way to understand the decision-maker before improving the decision.

The PDM four-leg framework: the decision-maker at the centre, standing on goal clarity, value base, information analysis and emotional regulation.01020304

The decision-maker

Four legs around one decision-maker. Select a leg to see the question it asks.

02Why it belongs in the curriculum

Why students and executives need PDM

  1. 01

    Students learn to analyse decisions.

    Few are taught to examine the decision-maker — their own experience, assumptions, values and emotion.

  2. 02

    Executives arrive with experience.

    Experience gives confidence, but does not guarantee good judgement. PDM gives them a discipline for telling the two apart.

  3. 03

    Decision-making is the core of leadership.

    PDM gives it a structure that can be taught, practised and carried into every other subject.

03How David engages

Formats for institutions.

MBA / EMBA
PDM as a module or elective — a structured discipline alongside strategy, finance and leadership.
Executive education
Open and custom programs for senior participants who decide for a living.
Guest lectures
A single session that changes how students think about the decisions they will make.
Leadership programs
PDM integrated into existing leadership curricula as the decision-making core.
Faculty collaboration
Working with faculty on teaching material, case discussion and applied research questions.
Institutional partnerships
Longer-term partnerships that bring Professional Decision-Making into the institution’s offer.

04PDM engagements, in an academic setting

From one lecture to a full program.

  1. 01

    Keynote lecture

    90 minutes

    A guest lecture or opening session for an MBA, EMBA or executive cohort.

  2. 02

    Mini workshop

    4 hours

    An intensive half-day module inside an existing course or executive program.

  3. 03

    PDM workshop

    2 full days or 4 half days

    A full PDM module: the four-leg framework, the mental processes and the Navigation Tool, practised in depth.

  4. 04

    Executive leadership program

    32 hours + one-on-one mentorship

    A complete executive-education program, with one-on-one mentorship for participants.

Bring PDM to your institution.

For deans, program directors and executive-education teams. Tell us about your program and participants.

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