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The Little Black Book of Decision Making: Making Complex Decisions With Confidence in a Fast-Moving World
The secret to making the right call in an increasingly complex world The decisions we make every day - frequently automatic and incredibly fast - impact every area of our lives. The Little Black Book of Decision Making delves into the cognition behind decision making, guiding you through the different ways your mind approaches various scenarios. You'll learn to notice that decision making is a matter of balance between your rational side and your intuition - the trick is in honing your intuition to steer you down the right path.
Pure reasoning cannot provide all of the answers, and relying solely on intuition could prove catastrophic in business. There must be a balance between the two, and the proportions may change with each situation. This book helps you quickly pinpoint the right mix of logic and 'gut feeling, ' and use it to find the best possible solution.
Balance logic and intuition in your decision making approach Avoid traps set by the mind's inherent bias Understand the cognitive process of decision making Sharpen your professional judgement in any situation Decision making is the primary difference between organisations that lead and those that struggle. The Little Black Book of Decision Making helps you uncover errors in thinking before they become errors in judgement.
Pure reasoning cannot provide all of the answers, and relying solely on intuition could prove catastrophic in business. There must be a balance between the two, and the proportions may change with each situation. This book helps you quickly pinpoint the right mix of logic and 'gut feeling, ' and use it to find the best possible solution.
Balance logic and intuition in your decision making approach Avoid traps set by the mind's inherent bias Understand the cognitive process of decision making Sharpen your professional judgement in any situation Decision making is the primary difference between organisations that lead and those that struggle. The Little Black Book of Decision Making helps you uncover errors in thinking before they become errors in judgement.
236 pages, Hardcover
Published August 28, 2017
49 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 10, 2021
Definitely an underrated book. This book resonates with me so well by starting with WEF’s Future of Jobs reports that I paid a lot of attention to. I have spent time developing the skills “of the future” with the lack of connection between them, from the TRIZ method, systems thinking to critical thinking, problem solving to decision making by multi-criteria method and heuristics.
I have never seen anyone put those skills into a coherent and convincing view like this author.
Proving his points convincingly with enough research experiments, neuroscience, and influential works like “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, he distills the knowledge with very simple rules and actions that every time you read them, you have the confidence and understanding to act by them, and know their power when acted together.
Don’t think that the rules are what you get in this book. What you get is the arrangement of those discrete advices, thinking, or actions you heard so often being so convincing and influential to the point that it drives you to action with strong purpose. No technical frameworks for you if you are looking for one.
Of course, not everyone would like the book. But if you are really looking to handle the complex decisions better, the understanding in this book will be tremendous.
I have never seen anyone put those skills into a coherent and convincing view like this author.
Proving his points convincingly with enough research experiments, neuroscience, and influential works like “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, he distills the knowledge with very simple rules and actions that every time you read them, you have the confidence and understanding to act by them, and know their power when acted together.
Don’t think that the rules are what you get in this book. What you get is the arrangement of those discrete advices, thinking, or actions you heard so often being so convincing and influential to the point that it drives you to action with strong purpose. No technical frameworks for you if you are looking for one.
Of course, not everyone would like the book. But if you are really looking to handle the complex decisions better, the understanding in this book will be tremendous.
January 29, 2019
An excellent read for anyone trying to understand their own decision-making thinking and past behaviors. Just enough technical/scientific references and case studies to engender trust in the logic which flows easily. A powerful reminder to actively engage with oneself... without losing perspective that you’re human after all. Michael Nicholas has certainly made a contribution to my journey towards increased self-awareness . A keeper.
March 21, 2019
Good points and interesting evidence
Despite being a little repetitive, this book explains why you can make better decisions, more often, and faster, if you slow your mind down.
Despite being a little repetitive, this book explains why you can make better decisions, more often, and faster, if you slow your mind down.
December 29, 2017
"What is the secret of success? Right decisions. How do you make right decisions? Experience. How do you gain experience? Wrong decisions." -A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
August 29, 2020
“Decisions are of considerate importance in practically every aspect of life...and make the difference to the level of success we achieve.”
I remember when I was in university, if I stayed up too late, and by too late I mean so late that it was early, I would turn on the t.v. and watch reruns of the sitcom Cheers. The main character of Cheers was a womanizing ex-baseball player who possessed a little black book. Inside his little black book were the answers to all his problems, which were the phone numbers of countless women with loose morals.
For us, living in a complex world where our problems require skill, attention, and resolve, the little black book we need is the Little Black Book of Decision Making - Making Complex Decisions With Confidence in a Fast Moving World, by Michael Nicholas.
“Our decision making ability determines the size and type of the problem we can solve and is therefore related to how far we can progress… how much we will thrive.”
Nicholas believes we need to look at the way we make the decisions that shape our lives under a new light. He postulates that in an era of rapid acceleration, incomparable amounts of data and information and unfathomable complexity we are ill equipped to make successful decisions the way we used to. That rational planning models are outdated and that our conscious minds are too overwhelmed to manage and synthesize all the information at our disposal effectively.
“The more knowledge you have, the better prepared for a new experience you will be.”
Through many examples Nicholas shows how we have moved from having to solve relatively simple problems to complicated problems and now complex problems within a generation. This shift has outpaced our cognitive evolution and has taken us beyond the limits of conscious processing power. A new mindset is what we need to solve complex problems, and that requires harnessing the power of our subconscious minds vastly more powerful processing ability.
This is not a book supporting ‘blink’ decisions, but an extension of Gary Klein's 'naturalistic’ decision-making processes. That we can use our intuition to process information and inform our choices with the greater speed required to thrive in the modern world. But that requires a level of awareness and precision that must be developed from the inside out. That we have to construct the intuitive mechanism in a way that is reliable and highly functioning, and that this takes practice and focus. But you have it in you to develop these decision-making skills through attention, adaptation and creativity. It is up to you to decide if it is worth it.
Overall Score: 3.6 / 5
In a Sentence: If you want to make better decisions in the new world, you need to think about decision making in a new way.
I remember when I was in university, if I stayed up too late, and by too late I mean so late that it was early, I would turn on the t.v. and watch reruns of the sitcom Cheers. The main character of Cheers was a womanizing ex-baseball player who possessed a little black book. Inside his little black book were the answers to all his problems, which were the phone numbers of countless women with loose morals.
For us, living in a complex world where our problems require skill, attention, and resolve, the little black book we need is the Little Black Book of Decision Making - Making Complex Decisions With Confidence in a Fast Moving World, by Michael Nicholas.
“Our decision making ability determines the size and type of the problem we can solve and is therefore related to how far we can progress… how much we will thrive.”
Nicholas believes we need to look at the way we make the decisions that shape our lives under a new light. He postulates that in an era of rapid acceleration, incomparable amounts of data and information and unfathomable complexity we are ill equipped to make successful decisions the way we used to. That rational planning models are outdated and that our conscious minds are too overwhelmed to manage and synthesize all the information at our disposal effectively.
“The more knowledge you have, the better prepared for a new experience you will be.”
Through many examples Nicholas shows how we have moved from having to solve relatively simple problems to complicated problems and now complex problems within a generation. This shift has outpaced our cognitive evolution and has taken us beyond the limits of conscious processing power. A new mindset is what we need to solve complex problems, and that requires harnessing the power of our subconscious minds vastly more powerful processing ability.
This is not a book supporting ‘blink’ decisions, but an extension of Gary Klein's 'naturalistic’ decision-making processes. That we can use our intuition to process information and inform our choices with the greater speed required to thrive in the modern world. But that requires a level of awareness and precision that must be developed from the inside out. That we have to construct the intuitive mechanism in a way that is reliable and highly functioning, and that this takes practice and focus. But you have it in you to develop these decision-making skills through attention, adaptation and creativity. It is up to you to decide if it is worth it.
Overall Score: 3.6 / 5
In a Sentence: If you want to make better decisions in the new world, you need to think about decision making in a new way.
March 22, 2022
Unfortunately does not deliver what I expected from part 3; a clear concise navigation of decision making. Instead leads to the conclusion that mindfulness is the solution. Some interesting theory on the separation of creative and analytical terms and classification of problems but overall felt like this didn't strike a chord. I wouldn't mind but time and money are precious resources, and this felt misleading, over verbose and over priced. However, as light writing goes, this little book was quite engaging and the author clearly has many years of experience in engagement and motivation.
October 15, 2021
ممل وغير منظم ولايفي بالغرض. أفكار ناقصة جدا. محتوى الكتاب لم يركز تركيز اساسي على الموضوع. ينصح الكاتب بمعالجة مشكلة عدم اتخاذ القرار السليم من الجذور وهي بان تعرف كيف يعمل المخ والعقل. وان تغير الفكر وتبتعد عن الانفعالات والتوترات.
October 8, 2023
A twist in a book like this?
This taps into the Zeitgeist providing a wonderful introduction to ideas that the well read will already be aware of, then takes that foundation to make an unexpected case.
This taps into the Zeitgeist providing a wonderful introduction to ideas that the well read will already be aware of, then takes that foundation to make an unexpected case.
December 2, 2021
Great book explaining the pitfalls of decision making and how we can make better choices
February 1, 2022
Got about half way, and just got bored, maybe I've read enough self-help/smart thinking books because I just can't focus on them anymore.
Although, I'm sure this would be beneficial for many.
Although, I'm sure this would be beneficial for many.
March 30, 2023
This was an ok introduction to decision making and behavioral science. But I think readers would do better to read Thinking Fast and Slow or Nudge which are much more comprehensive.
February 13, 2020
This is an excellent book on what influences us and how we can better approach any situation. I was happy to find so many unexpected topics covered, including conditioning behaviors, accelerated learning, rationality, mindset, and the importance and need for intentional attention.
Explore how essential creativity is and how to engage it. Learn to look at yourself and be vulnerable in order to condition new and better habits. Go from something "making you mad” to “I am angry”. Know the difference between simple, complicated, and complex systems. Learn exactly how trial and error, combined with high quality feedback, shows the best improvement. Learn to be responsive rather than reactive. Shift your mindset through adaptive changes, and know what separates them from technical changes.
The conclusions are actionable and noteworthy, able to be summarized and referred to quickly later on. There are 10 Decision Making Principles to help summarize what you read, and there’s so many more good takeaways within the chapters. I really enjoyed this book.
Explore how essential creativity is and how to engage it. Learn to look at yourself and be vulnerable in order to condition new and better habits. Go from something "making you mad” to “I am angry”. Know the difference between simple, complicated, and complex systems. Learn exactly how trial and error, combined with high quality feedback, shows the best improvement. Learn to be responsive rather than reactive. Shift your mindset through adaptive changes, and know what separates them from technical changes.
The conclusions are actionable and noteworthy, able to be summarized and referred to quickly later on. There are 10 Decision Making Principles to help summarize what you read, and there’s so many more good takeaways within the chapters. I really enjoyed this book.
April 17, 2018
New approach to decision-making based on self-awareness and Expanding intuition and expertise (experience)!
It's not the easy solution to make better decisions, but is certainly the right approach to align with your own abilities and thus creating longterm confidence in making the right decisions for yourself!!!
Anyone interested in gaining more control over her/his own choices should read it!
Make decisions often and frequently reflect and adapt them.
It's not the easy solution to make better decisions, but is certainly the right approach to align with your own abilities and thus creating longterm confidence in making the right decisions for yourself!!!
Anyone interested in gaining more control over her/his own choices should read it!
Make decisions often and frequently reflect and adapt them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews