---
name: historian-decision-model
description: Use when joining a new company, taking over legacy products, or proposing strategies that were previously attempted to avoid repeating past mistakes
---

# The Historian Decision-Making Model

## Overview

A process for improving decision quality by **excavating and analyzing organization history** to understand the context of past failures before charting a new path.

**Core principle:** Learn from mistakes you didn't personally live through.

## The Process

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. EXCAVATE                                                    │
│     Research past decisions and outcomes                        │
│     Talk to long-tenured employees                              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  2. CONTEXTUALIZE                                               │
│     Analyze "Why" decisions were made at that time              │
│     What was the environment/constraints?                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  3. IDENTIFY BAGGAGE                                            │
│     Map internal resistance and emotional blockers              │
│     "We tried that before" = baggage signal                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  4. FORMULATE HYPOTHESIS                                        │
│     Create strategy informed by historical context              │
│     Address what was different then vs. now                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  5. DECIDE & ITERATE                                            │
│     Commit to direction without needing 100% certainty          │
│     Learn from results                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## Key Principles

| Principle | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| **Excavate actively** | Don't assume you know the past |
| **Context matters** | Same idea can fail or succeed based on timing |
| **Baggage is real** | Emotional weight blocks rational evaluation |
| **Commit anyway** | History informs but doesn't dictate |

## Common Mistakes

- Ignoring "baggage" associated with old ideas
- Making decisions without understanding historical context
- Assuming "we tried that" means it can never work

---

*Source: Anneka Gupta (Rubrik CPO) via Lenny's Podcast*