Making Great Decisions in Business and Life

by David R. Henderson and Charles L. Hooper, Mark Lawler (Illustrator)

The phrase "work smarter, not harder" has been repeatedly ridiculed in the Dilbert comic strip and elsewhere, not because it is a bad idea, but because it is thrown like a brick lifesaver to drowning employees. To tell someone to work smarter is like telling someone to be happier, healthier, and richer. It's not much help to merely repeat the objective; what people need is a plan for achieving the objective. In Making Great Decisions, we show our readers how to achieve their objectives. We write to help those in business and those in the business of life--i.e., everyone--to work smarter. Our ideas are both simple and powerful. We offer a better way to look at problems so that the solutions are easier to find. We help supplement our readers' clear thinking by summarizing some of the most powerful techniques we have discovered.

Genres: Business, Economics, Self Help

287 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2005

Reviews

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book shortly after it came out and liked it so much I hosted a dinner event for the two authors to talk about the book to a gathering of the Jefferson Club in the SF Bay Area.

The book was a very good application of some basic economic insights of how to deal with decisions, both important and not so important in your life.

Many fun, touching and informative autobiographical examples were retold in the book.
The style I found not too preachy or too flip, just about right.

Recommended.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being in business for myself for over 20 years, some of the lessons in this book I was aware of and have used in making decisions to ensure the best shot at success. I would advise anyone thinking about opening a business to read this. Anyone could benefit from the info in this book and therefore in my world makes for a worthwhile read. The authors are free market economists who value correct thinking in unison with business and life. Lots of great analysis, very little heavy duty economist jargon, great quotes, and great illustrations to help understand problems we face in business and life.

A taste of some great points from the book:

1. The amount of analysis put toward a problem should be proportional to the importance of the problem.

2.He who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything. — Samuel Johnson

3. When we have goals in mind, we should reframe the issue from “I must” to “I want.” I want to go to work so that I can feed my kids, buy a car, buy a house, or change the world. If my goals don’t seem to justify the effort, then maybe I should rethink my goals and my overall strategy.

4.Here are a few simple rules for thinking clearly. Step #1: Think about what you want. Step #2 : Think of alternatives that give you what you want. Step #3: Consider what you like and dislike about each existing alternative. Step #4: Create hybrid alternatives, those that combine the best elements from the existing alternatives. “Cheat” the existing order by cherry-picking the best elements. Step #5: Throw out all impossible alternatives. Step #6: Pick the best alternative.

5.If you ever want to see what someone is really like, observe how that person treats those lower down in the pecking order. A decent person will treat everyone with respect. A deceitful or weak person will treat well only those he thinks need to be impressed. This is not only sorrowful, but also shortsighted.

[Zenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was listed for advanced microeconomics class in grad school. We had to write a review on it and tie it to principle in economics. But, it turned out to be just a great common sense book for decision making! You don't need a degree in economics to read this!!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have reached peak economic thought. This book provides diagrams that outline Dirty Harry's outline of choices for his famous line about asking if the bad guy is lucky or not. The diagram shows the probabilities for each conclusion and the book explains what it means. The book also outlines and explains the choice of whether Hamlet chooses to commit suicide or not. If he does commit suicide, he may be free of pain, but on the other hand, he may have worse pain than that currently experienced. Because Hamlet's father is in purgatory because he was unable to confess his sins before he died, Hamlet might actually be in more pain in his conception if he commits suicide because he cannot meaningfully repent of a sin while committing it. Hamlet concludes that his fear of pain stops him from engaging in any action whatsoever. This may be because Hamlet was studying philosophy and theology in Wittenburg rather than criminology. In light of his father's death it can be assumed that Hamlet decides it would not be in Ophelia's best interest for him to continue pursuing her romantically. This added level of self-control of Hamlet gives him more credibility when he confronts his mother for in effect reveling in her husband's death. Hamlet decides that his best course of action in uncovering the guilt of the false authority that has been placed over him is to puncture the king's mindless revelings by shocking the king's conscience. The king comes to the same conclusion as Hamlet: His repentance means nothing if he does not act in accordance to that repentance, and open himself up to the embarrassment and punishment of his usurpation of rightful authority.

[Tom Rozsas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making Great Decisions is a great book! The authors provide not only a complete collection of effective decision-making tools but also make professional decision making concepts simple to use and simple to understand. The result is a versatile book suitable to support decision makers and problem solvers in various settings. For professionals, it provides a quick reference of important concepts and a guide for the decision-making process. For personal decisions, Making Great Decisions is a treasure box of powerful tools with no resources of a corporate headquarters. Beyond decision making, the book also helps with handling complex problems and identifying situations when different techniques of decision making can be useful. As a capstone, the authors also explain the relation between good morals and good decisions - an important lesson to learn in many parts of the world.

The reader will find the book useful in such different environments like the public and private sector, or U.S. and international settings (I work and make decisions in Hungary's public sector). Making Great Decisions will be essential for professionals who need to convince partners with less developed decision making culture of the advantages of formal decision making. Think of joint ventures in emerging markets or reconstruction in Iraq! Cooperation with locals in decision making can be crucial for lasting results, and building trust or winning support is easier if you can explain the process clearly and quickly. Beyond improving their own decisions, personal decision makers can understand how decisions are made by organizations of various scales.

Real-life, personal stories transform the learning experience into a recreational activity even for individuals not fond of management and economic topics. I recommend Making Great Decisions for everyone who wants to handle problems in personal life or career more effectively without the risk of loosing important points between the lines of boring textbooks.
(This is a slightly edited version of my rewiew posted on Amazon several years ago.)

[Suhrob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read way too many applied decision theory/behavior psychology books, and much of the material keeps repeating. That is the case with this book too, but still this one sticks out for me as better than average. I really enjoyed it actually!

Also - just look at the cover. Incredible :)

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book! I refer to it and recommend it often. The difference between reasons and objectives alone is a lesson worth reading this for.

[Whig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic economics and decision science principles. Nothing surprising.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice, but basic logic and a bit simple.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a not particularly useful book on decision-making. Some of it is useful (decision trees, risk, etc.) but the authors' libertarian nonsense gets tiring. It's not terrible, but I can't help but feel that there must be similar but better books out there. I'm also currently reading The Thinker's Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving, which is a bit better, but still not great.