by Tyler de la Plaine, PhD, CPM
Making complex, high-stakes decisions can be intimidating—especially when outcomes are uncertain and the pressure is intense. In military operations, particularly during wartime, timely and accurate decisions can determine survival. Similarly, in the world of business, the ability to make swift and informed decisions often marks the difference between success and failure.
To support business owners and organizational leaders in navigating these challenges, Dr. de la Plaine developed a robust decision-making and strategic planning framework called STEAME—Strategic Tactics for Envisioning, Actualizing, Measuring, and Evaluating. STEAME is a Dynamic Actualization Decision Model (DADM) using a comprehensive, 10-step process designed to help leaders make high-impact decisions, craft strategic plans, and implement them effectively.
The STEAME model guides users through the full decision-making and execution 10-step lifecycle:
1. Determine and Specify – Clearly define the issue, goal, or challenge.
2. Research – Gather relevant data and contextual information.
3. Analyze – Examine the data using structured qualitative and quantitative methods.
4. Assess – Evaluate the implications and connections within the findings.
5. Strategize – Design a targeted, actionable plan aligned with organizational goals.
6. Envision – Mentally simulate success and foster stakeholder alignment.
7. Actualize – Implement the plan using effective leadership and communication.
8. Measure – Monitor progress using defined metrics and feedback tools.
9. Evaluate – Interpret results and assess the plan’s overall effectiveness.
10. Adjust – Refine the strategy based on outcomes, lessons, and emerging needs.
With STEAME, leaders are equipped to make informed, confident decisions that drive meaningful, measurable outcomes—even in the most uncertain environments.
Step Six Envision
Visualize the successful execution of the strategic processes developed in Step 5, with all components—internal teams, stakeholders, and external partners—working in coordinated harmony. Regularly imagining these successful outcomes not only reinforces the steps toward achievement but also engages the mind across three vital dimensions: cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling), and conative (willing or striving). When these dimensions align around a shared vision of success, they generate motivation, emotional energy, and a mental expectation of positive results.
This mental rehearsal isn’t just about planning; it’s about embodying success—seeing the process unfold smoothly, feeling the satisfaction of achievement, and internalizing the momentum that comes with forward progress. Such visualization creates clarity of purpose, boosts morale, and helps maintain focus under pressure.
Equally important, this step involves fostering buy-in, trust, and unity across the organization. Building solidarity with internal stakeholders, external partners, and customers—where appropriate—reinforces collective commitment. When people believe in the vision and see their role in the success, they become active participants in its realization.
By routinely envisioning success and emotionally connecting to the journey and its rewards, leaders, and teams condition themselves—and their organizations—to pursue outcomes with energy, confidence, and resilience.
Tyler de la Plaine, PhD, CPM
Founder and Principle Consultant
Thrive Venture Consulting: bringing people and ideas together