What sparked the idea to develop a tool for good decision-making?
Othmar Sutrich: For decades, my topic of choice "Deciding in Organizations" was based on the conviction that decision-making is what constitutes the very core of organizations — the hottest (and sometimes most heated) point of any organization, if you will. We soon saw that the process had to begin with the people in their working environment in order to examine their respective preferences for decision-making and create a language to express these findings.
First considerations arose out of the realization that no instrument existed with the help of which the decision-making of individuals in organizations could be diagnosed and related to respective team tasks, the organizational context and also to the strategy and culture of decision-making.
» Discover Othmar’s KAIROS Profile (Flexible Inventor)
What was the genesis of this invention?
Ulrike Sutrich: : The psychologist Maximilian Lanzenberger, Othmar Sutrich and myself began collaborating in 2008. Three very different personalities in different roles thus embarked on a promising journey together. As a management diagnostician, Max Lanzenberger's profound experience with and life’s work on assessment have proven to be very fruitful and formative for the entire project. Our valued and esteemed partner sadly passed away in 2012 at the age of 71.
By joining forces and with combined endurance, we developed the KAIROS Decision Profile as the world's first valid tool for assessing decision-making behaviour. The first KAIROS questionnaire consisted of seven dimensions. The addition of the "Intuitive" dimension as the final version’s eighth has contributed towards the practical significance of KAIROS.
» Discover Ulrike’s KAIROS Profile (Intuitive Practitioner)
How did you recognize the right moment (i.e. the KAIROS moment) to create a complex instrument such as KAIROS?
Othmar Sutrich: I would say that the process consisted of many small KAIROS moments that we were lucky enough to recognize and know to make use of.
The first certification workshop took place in September 2009. From the get-go, KAIROS proved to be an excellent tool to get people to talk about their individual decision-making patterns, both in their professional and personal lives. Top managers enjoyed using a new language to express all things related to their decisions. We quickly recognized the correlation between better insights into one's own personal decision-making style and a rise in quality in work and cooperation contexts. Business relations, teamwork and shaping the future come to the fore.
Where does the future potential for KAIROS lie?
Simon Sutrich: Customers are convinced by the added value of a meaningful tool such as KAIROS. Making decisions is no longer self-evident but rather makes users more insightful and more cooperative in life. Today the tool is of central importance, helping to navigate the imponderables of the digital age and promoting social innovations. KAIROS has proven to be an effective aid for organizations, leading with the catchphrase "It all starts with you". And KAIROS goes hand in hand with the VUCA world when it comes to co-deciding in teams and networking in companies.
» View Simon’s KAIROS profile (Solicitous Pragmatist)
Become a KAIROS Coach
Decision-making is the topic of the day and of the future. As a certified KAIROS Coach, you use this unique tool to expand your skillset and range of services as a trainer, consultant, coach or human resources specialist.
Individuals show themselves for who and how they are – in relation to their tasks and roles – with the help of KAIROS, without rash psychologization. The KAIROS Profile serves as a very concrete and valid tool to show individual decision-making and problem-solving behaviour in a comprehensible way. It helps to recognize personal decision-making patterns, to further develop the decision-making potential and to use it more consciously and flexibly. KAIROS connects people, teams and organizations.
This requires, on the one hand, a solid understanding of the theoretical basis and scientific connections and, on the other, empathy for how others will see things. It almost always leads to a particularly deep type of encounter.
You will be trained and qualified to use the KAIROS Profile autonomously. To do so you will acquire all necessary skills needed to support successful managers and employees throughout the course of your training, consulting and coaching activities. The areas of application are diverse.
