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What is the dictionary rule?

The dictionary rule involves ranking items the same way a dictionary does: one criterion (analogous to one letter) at a time. The dictionary rule gives great importance to the first criterion, lesser importance to the second criterion, and so on. 
 
A leader could implement this by deciphering a set of criteria for a given problem, then ranking the criteria in order of importance. The decision would be made by considering each solution by its rank in satisifying of each criterion, with the greatest amount of importance being placed on the first criterion, and the least amount of importance placed on the last criterion.

Often these “new” ideas are really old ideas and practices under new labels. Employees subjected to such “new” ideas and practices soon discover that higher management is simply advancing “old wine in a new bottle,” which creates cynicism, skepticism, and distrust toward higher level management.