Launching Decision Decoder, an e-book series on how to make smarter choicesThe first e-book in my Decision Decoder series is out now. Check it out on my website https://www.satyajitrout.com/Feb 4, 2023Feb 4, 2023
You’ll get riled up if you don’t know…Here are two headlines from my morning news to rile you up:Feb 1, 2023Feb 1, 2023
You can go far with blunt instrumentsWe tend to think absolutely, in all-or-nothing terms.Jan 31, 2023Jan 31, 2023
Your leaders aren’t the problem. Your leadership group is.On January 10, 1961, the New York Times outed on its front page that the CIA was training Cuban exiles to launch a guerilla war against the…Jan 23, 2023Jan 23, 2023
How levers of influence trick us into mistaking belief for knowledgeKnowledge is always true. Belief may or may not be true. The most time-tested beliefs are built on a foundation of knowledge that itself is…Jan 20, 2023Jan 20, 2023
Being a conditional detectiveIf things go well and you’re happy with the outcome, you don’t want to revisit anything.Dec 26, 2022Dec 26, 2022
How can you build a decision treeSay you’re considering treatment options for a medical problem. The problem is elective now, so you can either manage it conservatively…Dec 23, 2022Dec 23, 2022
You don’t need to negotiate betterMost people wish they could negotiate better. This feeling peaks around the time of job interviews and pay discussions.Dec 22, 2022Dec 22, 2022
Why pros and cons will fail youAlmost always the first, and often the last, decision-making tool that you will pick up is one that will fail you miserably.Dec 21, 2022Dec 21, 2022
Experience is a poor teacherIf left unexamined, experience is a poor teacher.Dec 20, 2022Dec 20, 2022
Stack Ranking Your ObjectivesCustomer Problem Stack Ranking from Shreyas Doshi is a way out of the problem of working on problems that almost no one cares about.Dec 19, 2022Dec 19, 2022
The best leaders are both hedgehog and foxThe hedgehog is coherent, confident, and consistent. It sticks to its guns. We love hedgehogs in interviews and on television. Hedgehogs…Dec 16, 2022Dec 16, 2022
You don’t lack compassion. You lack hygiene.When it comes to judging the quality of decisions, you may fall prey to resulting: you judge decision quality by outcome quality.Dec 9, 2022Dec 9, 2022
Life used to be a lot less free.In 1536, the Queen of England, Anne Boleyn, was put to death under the orders of the King of England, Henry VIII, on charges of treason and…Dec 8, 2022Dec 8, 2022
Don’t look for oranges; look for vitamin CAs the owner of a variety store in 1954, Sam Walton made a habit of sticking his nose into other stores to see what they did well. The…Dec 7, 2022Dec 7, 2022
When the outcome tail wags the decision dogOne of the more common pitfalls in decision-making is linking the outcome quality to the decision quality. Annie Duke, former poker…Dec 6, 2022Dec 6, 2022
The ‘Yes and But’ approachSomething that I’ve had the habit of letting slip through my attention is the But after a Yes. My work has always involved coming up with…Dec 5, 2022Dec 5, 2022
Anchoring Effect — having your thinking tied by a random numberYou run a small company. Employees have a free hand. You’re championed as a leader.Dec 2, 2022Dec 2, 2022
Lifting the energy in the roomI was chatting with a colleague and in response to a point I made, he said, ‘You’re absolutely right’. The words lifted my mood.Dec 1, 20221Dec 1, 20221
