100% Right 50% of the Time

by Yossi Yassour

Yossi Yassour, an Israeli bestselling author and esteemed professor of Business Administration, presents the fascinating field of decision-making in a clear, humorous, and accessible language, to allow you to make the decisions that are most right for you. You are watching a reality TV show you enjoy. At the same time, a friend calls you and tells you that a competing TV channel is showing a different reality TV show you like. When you put down the phone, are you in a better situation than you were before? Even though you now have more choices, you may be surprised to discover that most people would say your situation is worse. But how is this logical? Whether we are aware of it or not, we make decisions every moment of our life. The problems begin to form when we base too many of our decisions on wrong comparisons, misinformation, misguided risk assessment, and other negative emotional influences. The reasons for our failures are many, complex, and varied. Sometimes the consequences are no more than amusing, but sometimes they are critical. However, they are certainly avoidable. If we are more aware of the things that affect our decisions, we will be able to make smarter, braver, and more accurate decisions that will improve and enrich our lives and those of the people around us. Professor Yossi Yassour, Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard University, has focused his work and his academic writing on the field of decision theory for nearly 50 years. Based on his many years of experience, insights from research he has conducted with his colleagues, and other academic work done by the world’s best researchers, he invites you into the wonderfully fascinating world of decision theory, its practical applications, and the many methods you can employ to avoid failure while making decisions.

273 pages, Paperback

Published February 23, 2021

Reviews

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Rationality, as wonderful as it is, is not enough to encompass all areas of life’

Israeli author Yossi Yassour earned his Doctorate in Business Administration in Decision Theory from Harvard Business School, lectures on Decision Theory and Management at Ruppin Academic Center in Israel, and conducts workshops and lectures to physicians, managers, police and military commanders, judges and engineers. He is also a rehabilitation volunteer in the Israeli Prison Authority. 100% RIGHT 50% OF THE TIME is his fifth book, and the first to be translated from the Hebrew (by Sarah Winkler).

Reading Professor Yassour’s fascinating book brings to our attention the flummox that accompanies decision making. He clarifies this dilemma in a beautifully prepared approach to the ‘art of resolution’ by offering many examples, both humorous and serious, that open the window to our own introspection of how we function. Referencing research, he shares the following pertinent concepts: Bounded rationality (Although we act rationally in principle, due to the lack of time and or inability to evaluate all the possible results, odds, and risks, our rationality is limited and incomplete), Satisficing (the way in which we make decisions), and Reference Point (a point relative to which we feel good or bad, regret or disappointment, victory or loss, success or failure). Within the discussion of each of these concepts the core of the book is revealed.

The easy to read and absorb book is divided into Sections – Probabilistic Failures, Ambiguity and Uncertainty, Risk Taking, Rational Assumption of Decision Theory, Perception of Results, Emotion and Intuition in Decision Making. The author states, ‘Substantial research shows us that most people make crucial mistakes in their decision-making processes. People are too occupied with the short term, too worried about loss and regret, incorrectly estimate the consequences of their actions, wrongly balance logic with emotion, and in short - make decisions that are not right for them in the long term.’

There are many ‘a-ha’ moments to discover in this guide, a skillfully presented roadmap to making correct decisions. In closing, the author states, ‘– ‘In my opinion, modern man’s mission is to find the golden path between the conquering emotion and the binding logic; to decide (rationally) when to use emotion for decision making and when to use intellect, when to act intuitively and when to hesitate, consult, plan, and only then act.’ Very valuable advice from an expert in his field!

[Hukuna Matata]

Hfhfufug

[Daniel]

Good and useful!

I received this book for free, but the opinion is my own. This book is easy to read, and has many immediately actionable insights.