The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking (Fully Revised Edition)

simple rules are more effective than complex ones because they shorten the amount of time needed to process information – one of the most time-consuming processes of all.

“The most urgent decisions are rarely the most important ones.”

The psychology professor Barry Schwarz has a simple recommendation: reduce your choice. For example, in a restaurant, pick the first dish on the menu that you like the look of, and then immediately close the menu. Because the more options you juggle in your mind, the more dissatisfied you will be.

Evade responsibility. Those who feel overwhelmed by a conflict often delegate the decision – and thus also the confrontation – to another authority, usually a higher one.

Do I have the right people for this project? Do our skills correspond to our goals? Are we capable of doing what we want to do?

Whenever you have an important decision to make, write down what you expect to happen. After a year, compare your expectation with the actual outcome.

Double-loop learning involves reflecting on your actions and learning from them.

Substitute? Substitute people, components, materials. • Combine? Combine with other functions or things. • Adapt? Adapt functions or visual appearance. • Modify? Modify the size, shape, texture or acoustics. • Put to other use? Other, new, combined uses. • Eliminate? Reduce, simplify, eliminate anything superfluous. • Reverse? Use conversely, inver

Green hat: creative, associative thinking, new ideas, brainstorming, constructive. • Blue hat: structured thinking, process overview, the big picture.