Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions

Hammond , Keeney , Raiffa

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Where should I live?

Is it time to switch careers?

What is the best course of action for me?

Decisions shape our experiences, from choosing which job offer to accept, to buying the right car, to selecting a good accountant. How do we know which choice is the smart one? How can we be consistent and confident in our decisions? In this book from the three leading authorities on decision-making, readers learn how to approach all types of decisions with a simple set of skills developed by professors from Harvard, MIT, and the University of Southern California.

Combining solid research with common sense and practical experience, this user-friendly guide shows readers how to assess deep-seated objectives, create a comprehensive set of alternatives, determine likely consequences, make tradeoffs, and grapple with uncertainty. Not only will readers learn how to make decisions, they will learn how to make the smartest decisions. For anyone caught at a confusing crossroad–whether you’re choosing between mutual funds or deciding where to retire–the Smart Choices program will improve your decision-making abilities immediately, and make your life more rewarding and fulfilling.

What will you learn from this book

  1. Clarifying Objectives: Clearly defining your objectives and priorities is crucial before making any decision. Understanding what you want to achieve helps in evaluating options effectively.

  2. Identifying Alternatives: Generating a range of viable alternatives or choices is essential to avoid prematurely settling on the first apparent solution.

  3. Assessing Consequences: Evaluating the potential outcomes or consequences of each alternative, including both positive and negative impacts, helps in making informed decisions.

  4. Considering Trade-Offs: Recognizing that decisions often involve trade-offs and being prepared to prioritize certain objectives over others based on their relative importance.

  5. Managing Uncertainty and Risk: Acknowledging uncertainty and risk inherent in decisions and using techniques such as probability assessment and risk analysis to make more informed choices.

  6. Avoiding Decision Traps: Being aware of common decision-making pitfalls, such as biases, emotions, and cognitive errors, and employing strategies to mitigate these influences.

  7. Gathering Information: Acquiring relevant and reliable information to support decision-making, while also recognizing when additional information won't significantly alter the decision.

  8. Decision-Making Process: Following a systematic decision-making process that involves identifying the problem, generating options, evaluating alternatives, and implementing the chosen solution.

  9. Group Decision Making: Understanding the dynamics of group decision-making and techniques for effectively involving multiple stakeholders to reach consensus or make collective decisions.

  10. Learning from Decisions: Embracing the outcomes of decisions, whether they lead to success or failure, as learning opportunities to improve future decision-making processes.

Language English
ISBN-10 0767908864
ISBN-13 9780767908863
No of pages 242
Font Size Medium
Book Publisher Crown Business
Published Date 05 Mar 2002

About Author

Author : Hammond,Keeney,Raiffa

1 Books

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