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HBR's 10 Must Reads on Making Smart Decisions

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New from the bestselling HBR’s 10 Must Reads series.



Learn why bad decisions happen to good managers—and how to make better ones.



If you listen to nothing else on decision making, you should at least hear these 10 articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you and your organization make better choices and avoid common traps.



Leading experts such as Ram Charan, Michael Mankins, and Thomas Davenport provide the insights and advice you need to:



• Make bold decisions that challenge the status quo
• Support your decisions with diverse data
• Evaluate risks and benefits with equal rigor
• Check for faulty cause-and-effect reasoning
• Test your decisions with experiments
• Foster and address constructive criticism
• Defeat indecisiveness with clear accountability

MP3 CD

First published January 1, 2013

299 people are currently reading
2059 people want to read

About the author

Harvard Business Publishing

327 books794 followers
Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) is a publisher founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, independent corporation and an affiliate of Harvard Business School (distinct from Harvard University Press), with a focus on improving business management practices. The company offers articles, books, case studies, simulations, videos, learning programs, and digital tools to organizations and subscribers.
HBP consists of three market units: Education, Corporate Learning, and Harvard Business Review Group. Their offering consists of print and digital media (Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review Press books, Harvard Business School cases), events, digital learning (Harvard ManageMentor, HMM Spark), blended learning, and campus experiences.

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5 stars
114 (20%)
4 stars
233 (41%)
3 stars
174 (31%)
2 stars
27 (4%)
1 star
11 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
66 reviews5 followers
March 11, 2016
A lot of on cognitive biases. A lot on how to improve organizational structure for making better decision. But almost nothing on how to do better decisions as a person.
113 reviews4 followers
March 17, 2017
I have listened to Audiobook and I have forgotten almost all information in a couple of days, but one thought was memorable enough. Re-evaluate departmental goals yourself. Everyone tries to be on a safe side and because of that, the costs can get over the roof.
Another lesson, is that we are not all that rational, and there are cognitive biases to be aware of.
I should have taken notes to retain more good tips.
2 reviews4 followers
May 19, 2014
The first two chapters are a good summary of biases and cautions you need to take to make better decisions. The other chapters are more focused towards organizational decision making and might be helpful only for entrepreneurs/CEOs, but quite valuable! Gave some good pointers to the problems I have been personally working with.
66 reviews2 followers
August 15, 2018
A very enlightening read about decision making with a plethora of examples and accurate pinpoints to the hidden traps and biases in decision making. Yet, many of the examples refer to multinational large companies which makes some sections seems irrelevant to small companies.
Profile Image for Craig.
Author 16 books40 followers
February 20, 2019
A bit of a jumble, but if you mentally rearrange it, it could be a solid insight into some elements of decision-making.
3 reviews1 follower
December 9, 2018
I use insights I gained from this book on a day-to-day basis while leading my company.
Profile Image for Venkat.
9 reviews
July 26, 2015
Pretty decent collection

I found some of the topics like cognitive biases relevant to the book title, some are a little away. Good for one reading.
Profile Image for Alex Sidorenko.
Author 3 books3 followers
December 18, 2017
Very insightful

Great reminder how decision making can be improved and better integrated with risk management. Found some excellent ideas in this collection of articles
Profile Image for Fatimah.
217 reviews2 followers
June 10, 2020
انتهيت من الكتاب وسيكون له عودة بالتأكيد
الكتاب عملي
جميل جدا للمديرين ولمتخذي وصانعي القرار
ممل في بعض صفحاته
ولكن لأن الكتاب عملي فيجب العودة له مرة أخرى
Profile Image for Ness.
593 reviews
Read
September 20, 2024
The print book was originally published in 2013 as a collection of previously published articles. The audiobook was released in 2022, and I listened to it in 2024. It comes off as dated. Sure, I wouldn't say that the findings and advice has necessarily changed, but praising Enron's smart decision making just didn't age at all (I can't believe that make it into the original book, perhaps I misheard and they were discussing a similarly named company?...), and Boeings decision making in light of the more recent 737 MAX mess and the Starliner issues stranding astronauts in space... I don't know, I just don't like how they've issued the audiobook a decade after the print, and didn't modernize it, like why bother? Good information, I suppose, but the dated references really distracted from the core messages.

Going forward, I'll pass on these HBR audiobooks unless I can confirm that the material is current.

Borrowed audiobook from library via Libby App.
Profile Image for Kumar.
160 reviews2 followers
February 15, 2024
This is a good refresher on how to individually and as an organization make good decisions. I found these models particularly new for me:
RAPID (Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input and Decide) separation of roles to accelerate decision making
Avoid catastrophes (Ex Challenger) by building processes that protect against normalization and outcome bias
Structure issue-focused cross-functional planning rather than unit and calendar timed traditional strategic planning
Build processes to protect against biases (advocacy vs. inquiry, range of options, feedback and follow through, push against stereotypical environments to champion diversity, institutionalize small group decisions with analytics and automation, strong governance to protect against leader emotional tagging)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Tara Brabazon.
Author 37 books478 followers
March 4, 2024
These HBR books are like a double shot of coffee in the morning. The essays are short and grab the reader by the throat. There is no elegant research literature presented. Instead, here is an idea that I am going to propel towards you at 120 kilometres an hour.

The speed and the intensity renders the ideas important and deeply relevant. But when the coffee wears off, we see pretty straight forward ideas expressed in a truncated snack pack.

These chapter are interesting, but are not revelatory
Profile Image for Firat Fidan.
239 reviews6 followers
August 24, 2024
Özellikle iş hayatınızda uygulayabileceğiniz, karar alma mekanizmasına yardımcı olabilecek 10 makalenin farklı açıdan konuya yaklaşımını yansıtmış, yine güzel bir HBR serisi. Bu tür makaleleri bir kahve eşliğinde hızlıca okuyabiliyorsunuz. Üst düzey yöneticilerin ve karar vericilerin okuması için yazılmış olan bu makalelerde önyargılarımızın karar alırken bizi nasıl etkilediğini anlatan makale bence en iyisiydi. HBR serileri benim için bir klasik, kendimi güncellemek adına yılda en az seriden 2-3 kitap bitiriyorum, tavsiye ederim 👍🏾
Profile Image for Eugene Bosiakov.
32 reviews
February 6, 2021
The first part is excellent. Articles contain particular and precise pieces of advice. Good examples, strong and clean thoughts. Some statements triggered me in the right way.

The last articles consist of shady and unclear wording. I didn't get any through from them, even the main one.

Anyway, the book is worth reading for everyone, regardless of your position.
Profile Image for Erkan Erol.
104 reviews15 followers
July 25, 2023
Karar almak ile alakalı 10 farklı makaleyi içeren bir kitap.

Kitabın ilk makalesinde karar alma süreçlerindeki gizli tuzaklar ele alınmış. Batık maliyet yanılgısı, doğrulama yanılgısı, çıpalama yanılgısı vs. Bu makaleyi çok sevdim.

Bir kaç makale organizasyonların karar alma süreçleriyle ilgiliydi. Onları da beğendim. CEO falan olursam işe yarar :D

Ayrıca gizli önyargılar (cinsiyetçilik, ırkçılık vb) ve bunların karar alma süreçlerindeki etkisini irdeleyen makale de güzeldi.
Profile Image for Patrick.
224 reviews8 followers
September 28, 2024
As with any book of this type, there are hits and misses. Kahneman's article is, of course, super helpful. Hammond's is as well. That being said, there are a few that are dated (celebrating aspects of Enron) or rely on systems that have now been proven to be inaccurate (IAT). Good book to have, but pick and choose where you spend your time.
Author 17 books15 followers
May 7, 2025
Extremely useful even if you are not managing a company. Even though the essays are meant for managers, they are presented in an easy to understand, easy to aplly way that can help with avoiding unconscious biases in the decision-making process regardless of whether you are managing a multi-national corporation or just trying to decide personal plans.
Profile Image for Olena Sovyn.
149 reviews29 followers
December 30, 2019
Хотілось би щоб трохи більше статей було із цього десятиліття, адже деякі із них за час після того як вони були надруковані в журналі стали дуже популярними і концепції представлені в них відомі і з інших джерел
Profile Image for Mojtaba Shayesteh.
24 reviews
January 18, 2022
تصمیم گیری یک فرایند ساختارمند و مهم در هر سازمان است که به صورت تئوری قابلیت اجرا ندارد و می بایست به طور دقیقی برنامه ریزی، پیاده سازی و اجرا شود. تئوری و شهود در تصمیم گیری جایی ندارد و براساس اصول ساختارمند یک تصمیم خوب شکل می گیرد.
192 reviews1 follower
March 27, 2022
This book has a number of good articles that will inspire reflection on decision making processes and common flaws in decision making. Worth a read for anyone who wants to think about the decision making process and identify possible pitfalls and flaws.
Profile Image for Eric.
95 reviews
June 15, 2019
Excellent essays be leaders in the decision science and behavioral economics. Highly recommend for anyone interested in decision making.
6 reviews
April 19, 2020
Quick read for decison makers. Must read to get insights on how our minds work while making decisons at work. Very helpful
23 reviews1 follower
August 15, 2020
A series of articles, some very useful, some not at all. Mixed, but worthwhile.
10 reviews
October 11, 2020
More Application Needed

Well written to outline what companies do however I would like more information on applying the principles as someone needing to execute.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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