---
id: "contrarian-where-not-who"
type: "contrarian-insight"
source_timestamps: ["¶5"]
tags: ["decision-making", "strategy"]
related: ["concept-decision-anchoring-in-strategy"]
challenges: "The conventional view that inclusive decision-making is achieved by expanding the list of final approvers or soliciting feedback on a pre-existing proposal."
speakers: ["David Livermore"]
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-108-decision-revolves-around-hq"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/what-global-companies-lose-when-decision-making-revolves-around-headquarters"
sourceTitle: "What Global Companies Lose When Decision-Making Revolves Around Headquarters"
---
# The issue is where the decision begins, not who makes it

## Contrarian Insight — It's *where* the decision begins, not *who* makes it

**Conventional wisdom it challenges:** That you democratize decision-making by **expanding the list of stakeholders** who get to vote or sign off on the final decision.

**Livermore's counter-argument:** This misses the point. The true locus of power is the **initial framing of the problem**. If HQ frames the problem, regional sign-off is largely **performative** — the alternatives have already been narrowed by the anchor.

This is the strategic generalization of [[quote-where-decision-begins]], grounded in [[concept-decision-anchoring-in-strategy]], and it justifies moving the *origin* of decisions via [[action-require-regional-briefs]] rather than merely adding approvers. It reframes the entire [[concept-hq-satellite-dynamic]] as a problem of *sequence*, not *headcount*.

**Enrichment / validation — strongly aligned:** Strategy-process scholars argue that **agenda-setting and problem framing** are the real loci of power, often more important than formal final approval; inclusive-decision research shows adding approvers does little if early framing is controlled by a small group. Consistent with anchoring and framing effects — earlier stages shape the “choice architecture” later actors merely ratify.


## Related across articles
- [[concept-decision-rights]]
- [[framework-decision-rights-mistakes]]