Decisive

The authors introduce a four-step process designed to counteract the biases that inevitably creep into the decision-making process. Research in psychology has revealed that our decisions are disrupted by an array of biases and irrationalities: We are overconfident. We seek out information that supports us and downplay information that does not. We get distracted by short-term emotions. When it comes to making choices, it seems, our brains are flawed instruments. Unfortunately, merely being aware of these shortcomings does not fix the problem, any more than knowing that we are nearsighted helps us to see. The real question is: How can we do better? In this book the authors, based on an exhaustive study of the decision-making literature, introduce a four-step process designed to counteract these biases. It takes readers on an unforgettable journey, from a rock star's ingenious decision-making trick to a CEO's disastrous acquisition, to a single question that can often resolve thorny personal decisions. Along the way, we learn the answers to critical questions like these: How can we stop the cycle of agonizing over our decisions? How can we make group decisions without destructive politics? And how can we ensure that we don't overlook precious opportunities to change our course? This book offers strategies and practical tools enabling us to make better choices. Because the right decision, at the right moment, can make all the difference.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Self-Help. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.