The Decision Checklist: A Practical Guide to Avoiding Problems

by Sam Kyle

Some are big. Some are small. But nothing determines our happiness and success in life more than the decisions we make. If you don’t like where you are in life, that can be a hard pill to swallow. The good news is, that no matter where you are today, you can choose to be in a better place tomorrow. That’s where The Decision Checklist comes in. The framework outlined in The Decision Checklist has helped hundreds of people find better jobs, start new businesses, make more money, and seize bigger opportunities. It can do the same for you. You’ll also learn how to avoid making stupid mistakes that chew up your valuable time and stall your progress. “The checklists at the end of each chapter and the resources in the back of the book alone are worth the price of the book times ten. This book has the potential to impact every area of your life. Read it. Then read it again.” — Ethan Roberts, Executive Recruiter, IHC “I read this book in one sitting and am blown away by how much is packed into every page. Super practical and easy to follow. Loved it.” — Tim Perkins, True North Solutions, CEO “This is required reading for all my employees.” — Ashley Farrell, Entrepreneur Inside The Decision Checklist, you’ll * How to make better decisions more quickly (yes, it’s a learned skill) * How to curb procrastination forever so you can take massive action each and every day * How to choose the best options * How mental models can power your process * The simple formula you can use to identify your strengths and your blind spots when making important decisions And a whole lot more. Each chapter concludes with a short list of prescribed action steps so you always know what to do in order to see progress fast. The Decision Checklist is an essential tool for anyone who wants to reclaim their time, their goals, and what they’d really like to do with their life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Psychology

130 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2018

Reviews

[Simon Eskildsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read nothing about decision-making, this is a great intro. If you have read books such as Decisive, Principles, Farnam Street, or Charlie Munger, this has nothing new and original other than a few examples, which is a shame. As your first foray to break open the literature on decision-making, I can see use in choosing your next adventure. It'd be unfair not to point out the things that Kyle brings up that are "new." This line is fantastic:

“A system is responsible in proportion to the degree that the people who make the decisions bear the consequences.” (Charles Frankel)

This quote captures so eloquently how group decision-making can be dangerous, even though it tells this wonderful story of how everyone sat down and came up with something. But who feels responsible when things go wrong? It's easy to create systems that incentivize the wrong behavior accidentally. For example, recently Wells Fargo (American bank) got in trouble because sales reps were incentivized to set up extra accounts for their customers and charge them fees. This got completely out of hand because it was weaved deep into their compensation strategy. Who feels responsible for that? It depends a lot on how the decision was made. Luckily, Wells Fargo seems to be about as embarrassed about this as they ought to be—so something isn't completely broken about the system of the company, even if the immediate compensation system is grossly wrong. Kyle follows it up with: "The Romans had a similar system: The guy who created an arch stood under it as the scaffolding was removed." Great, of course, he did not resist to include Hammurabi which is, yes, fascinating, but also beaten to death.

Another point Kyle brings up that I quite like is that time spent making a decision is an opportunity cost. I absolutely agree with this, and as the decision-maker, you have to walk a thin line between making the right decision, and making it quickly enough.

“At best, [indecision is] an opportunity cost . . . For every eight hours of indecision, you’re trading eight hours of productivity—hours you could spend actually executing one of the options you’re agonizing over. Add in salaries, hourly rates and attention diverted and the costs are greater still.”

In this context, he says:

‘Let’s wait until . . . , ’ in the hope that new information will make your decision easier. But you can’t always wait for the perfect conditions to set your course."

I like this a lot if you couple it with Heath's tripwires and reversibility. Instead of waffling, make the decision and then set up a tripwire to reverse (if that's easy). However, in some cases, it's too hard to reverse. Also, consider that just because reversing is technically free, the human cost to it is high. Indecision is not this 1:1 opportunity cost that Kyle describes above; during that time you can typically get other things done, but it's also not 1:0.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re looking to improve your decision-making, I’d definitely recommend Decisive by the Heath Brothers over this book (this book actually references Decisive). I enjoyed reading Decisive more because of the stories and rich examples. In contrast, this book summarized and referenced a lot of concepts at a high-level.

This book’s main takeaways:
* Keep a decision journal.
* Make better decisions by taking responsibility for the outcome
* Indecision is costly
* Know that there are a lot of cognitive biases that lead to poor decision making
* Develop mental models to check your understanding from multiple perspectives

[Jeffry · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can likely skip this book unless you've never read anything else about decision-making. Otherwise, the references to other books are useful and probably more valuable than the rest of the content.

[Pedro Gimenez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una lectura muy simple que se limita a citar las típicas enseñanzas de gente como Charlie Munger, Benjamin Graham o Benjamin Franklin. Si ya has leído libros sobre ellos, el único capítulo que te aporta valor es el primero y el apéndice B. O mejor, lee este post que resume el capítulo completo: https://fs.blog/2014/02/decision-jour....

Para ponerlo en práctica he creado un template en Evernote en el que durante este año anotaré mis decisiones. Las revisaré cada seis meses —la sugerencia del autor es uno o dos meses que quizá es un ciclo de feedback más útil— y así veré si tiene sentido para mí.

[antony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book. It's more of a productivity/ life issues journal guidebook and not so much of a checklist guidebook.

It's written well and it's engaging and you may get a lot of benefit from reading it but I was looking for a book of checklists for making decisions. There was one, I used it for a work problem and it did clarify things for me and got me asking the right questions to get to a decision but that is not the main thrust of the rest of the book.

[Josh Rensch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer on decision making

Sam details a process to helping most people make better decisions. He makes a lot of references to various other books on decision making. He brings all those together into one reference. Couple things I enjoyed was the list of mental models in the appendix and all the various action steps he wants people to go through not only at the end of each chapter but a master list at the end of the book.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is small yet to the point. There is no dilly dallying with this book, it gives you a brief context for the chapter and then you are off into the procedures and exercises pertinent to the chapter itself. I found especially the chapter on mental models to be most important, as process is better than outcome. Of course, process needs to be refined and made to adjust to your context in life as well. I would recommend this book.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book lacks depth and skims over the details. The author references people and ideas but didn't add much insight into decision making himself.

The why isnt explained and there are not many examples.

[Héctor Iván Patricio Moreno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've learned that I need to read a lot more about decisions to be a good decision maker. I liked very much the part about the books and the mental models and I want to develop my critical thinking thanks to this book.

The checklist proposed is a good start to making better decisions I think.

[MindOverMatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's a work book. One that requires practices and a journal. I like it, very inspiring. It is my first step into decision making and I learned a lot. It is a quick read; the hard work starts afterwards in our journal.

[andy noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction to the subject

Well written, not overlong introduction to the topic. Good references for further reading. Plus a couple of decision making models are explored in order to get you started in making better decisions

[Airon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an overview of how to make better decisions. I didn't feel compelled to implement the tips in the book though.

[Helfren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decision is one of the prominent tools in human ability to change and manipulate things into their own hand. However, how does someone really have a great decision? In every good decision path, one must take responsibility on its outcome because, the very direction of the thought has proven its result in front.

A very mind-opening book.

[Juan Manuel Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante y útil.

Un libro muy recomendable, con aportaciones muy útiles interesantes.
La aportación del decisión journal, por si mismo vale la pena. El capítulo de modelos de decisiones es espectacular

Altamente recomendable. .

[Xu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introductory book on establishing why it’s important to use models and checklists to guide decision making. Many action points included and are easy to find. However, it’s not though-provoking to me.

[James Lusher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mental models and decision making

Excellent set of mental models in appendix C. This book is short and simple but it’s messages are powerful if applied

[Arunsathyaseelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and will be coming back to it again and again. Synthesizes the most influential decision making processes in a short and crisp way.

[Ray Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Ideas

Lists lots of decision making models and some of the challenges people have in their internal mental models. Short book, but lots of good ideas that will help me a lot.

[Daniel Zavala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intro level book on how to improve our decision making process with tons of material on what to do next.

[Danish Prakash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather a collection of snippets from various other books. The only part that seemed interesting were the mental models in appendix 3 at the end of the book.

[Stephen Bleakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth it for the mental models alone

One of the better books on decision making worthwhile read with plenty of insights.The appendix on mental models was worth the price alone.