ix This book... will help you step back from the heat of decision making and think about how you
approach decision making... There is no simple formula for decisions... On the following pages are a series of sharp insights
that will give you new ways of thinking about your decisions... I hope the following truths about decision making
can help you in making your own tough decisions.
p.17 there is great power in employing a systematic approach to decision making. This is particularly true
when there is great complexity
p.52 When we focus our attention on a specific area of the world or on a specific task, we can become
blind to what's outside of it. This attentional blindness can cause us to miss significant issues that could affect
our decisions. Where we look determines what facts we see.
p.59 Approach new challenges as a student and learner rather than an expert.
p.63 In addressing a decision, you need to recognize the lenses you use to view it. These
lenses or frames limit how you pose the question and limit the questions you can see. How do you break out of these frames?
The first approach is to seek out and immerse yourself in different views.
p.71 Boil knowledge down to its essence - and then act on it.
p.72-73 When you're facing a complex and confusing decision, see if you can come up with a simple principle
(or heuristic) you can follow... a simple heuristic for decision making can keep you from being overwhelmed by the
data... In using such shortcuts, we need to be sure we are in an environment that will give us the feedback needed
to learn from our past decisions. If we are in a foggy or ambiguous environment, we may not be able to... recognize when it
is leading us astray.
p.77 for any decision, think through the next steps. What opportunities will this decision open
in the future? What are the next decisions you'll be faced with? If you play chess, think about the series of decisions and
how they might play out, given the expected moves on the board in reaction to your first move.
p.90 If you don't have good information, you can't make good decisions.
p.100 You will never have all the information you need to make a decision... In making
decisions, you need to know how much information you really need and how long you can wait until you have to act. The
goal is not to be perfect but to know enough and then move forward. Sometimes taking a decisive step forward can
be more important than developing a Ph.D thesis in getting the job done.
p.158 Sometimes we can break down big decisions that appear absolute into smaller experiments that
allow us to learn.
p.170 Don't get too caught up in the short-term outcome because the long-term one could
be quite different... We need to keep our eye on the long term.
