Have you ever made an important decision with total confidence, only to see it become a complete disaster? Or perhaps you’ve made a critical decision in haste, hoping things would work out?
Why do we frequently make crucial decisions based on false confidence and wishful thinking?
… because the human brain makes time–saving assumptions to navigate our modern world, resulting in faulty insights and delusional beliefs without the slightest awareness from our conscious self.
This book will challenge the way you think about making critical decisions by taking you on a fascinating journey into the inner workings of the human mind. Through quizzes, exercises, and many real-world examples, you will discover how your decisions are really made and why you can be most vulnerable to decisional error, precisely when your confidence is at its highest. You’ll see how you can easily detect and overcome the common cognitive illusions that inevitably lead to poor choices and bad judgment.
When it comes to making critical decisions, many people are under the assumption that they won’t know if they’ve made a “good” decision until they know the outcome, but this line of thinking is completely backward. In fact, if you cannot make a major decision with 100% confidence – that you’ve made a good decision at the time you made it – then it’s NOT decision making ... it’s gambling! This book will show you how to make that important decision with absolute certainty.
When you understand how your mind really works (it’s not how you think), you will develop the discipline to follow this book’s simple decision-making formula – and that means making those critical, potentially life-changing decisions with confidence and certainty.
Readers will appreciate the hands-on assessments, quizzes, and exercises Fast offers, making this resource not only technical but also well-rounded and accessible. He begins with an evaluation that identifies cognitive weaknesses, pointing out that everyone can fall prey to “lazy thinking” and bias that will negatively influence decision-making. Readers will find other handy tools throughout, namely a quiz that assesses current decision-making skills, case studies to illustrate the guide’s concepts, and a glossary of relevant terms. Fast breaks down the different facets that can impact decision-making, including groupthink, heuristics ("simple, efficient rules that help us form judgements and make decisions"), and cognitive biases—such as the tendency to ignore information that contradicts current beliefs and a preference for the status quo to remain unchanged.
Ultimately, Fast makes a decisive argument for why decision-making skills are crucial, and his straightforward guidance can be applied across a variety of settings. In his own words, decision-making is both a necessity and a privilege: "The defining feature of being a member of the human race––as opposed to any other creature on our planet––is our singular ability to make choices.”
Takeaway: Comprehensive guide on the art of choice.
Comparable Titles: Patrik Edblad's The Decision-Making Blueprint, Joseph Bikart's The Art of Decision Making.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: NA
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
