Decisive Review: Can Decision-Making Be Improved?

I love reading non-fiction. At least half of everything I read is non-fiction. Sometimes, I’ll find a book I like on a particular subject and end up doing a deep dive with several more books. A recent example was decision science. After being completely fascinated by Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink, I discovered that there is an entire academic field dedicated to studying decision-making. This lead me to pick up Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath.

Like many other business and life help books, Decisive does not bury the lead. The framework the Heath brothers have developed is explained in the first chapter. However, the explanations and examples covered in the rest of the book were informative and helped me to understand how the framework could be applied.

Two of the principles from the book, I found myself applying in real life as I faced a decision about where to live. I had to look for housing online, so I was particularly concerned about making a good decision. One big idea was that you should avoid making yes/no decisions about a single idea. The best plan is to make a decision about the solution to a problem, with several options for what that solution might look like. So, in the case of finding a place to live, I focused on all of the possible types of housing I could look for, not approving one choice.

The book also had a lot of good information about how to find information. It went into a lot of detail in what kinds of questions to ask and examined why people often don’t get the answers they need. The authors offered evidence for why very specific questions are the most helpful. For example, ask, “how many times in the last two months could you not find a nearby place to park?” vs. “do you have problems with parking?”. I felt that this was extremely practical advice to takeaway from this book.

The writing in the book did a good job of breaking up passages on theory with interesting case studies and anecdotes. The Heath brothers infused a punchy sense of humor throughout the book as well that livened up the writing style. Clearly, the authors took pains to make sure that they informed the reader without being boring.

Recommending ‘helpful’ books can be tricky. It isn’t always obvious who will be open to advice. That’s why I can only say that I enjoyed this book as a reading experience, and I feel that I walked away having learned something I could apply to my own life. That’s my recommendation for you.

What about you? Do you like non-fiction? Have you read any books about decision science? After Decisive and Blink, the next in my queue is Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. What’s next on your to-read pile?

Beautiful Boulder

For about a month now, I’ve been living in Boulder, Colorado. My summer internship means I get to spend June- August basking in the sunny, not too hot weather and the beautiful mountains.

The Flatirons, Boulder’s pride and joy.

Settling into Boulder, I’ve been struck by how beautiful it really is here. Not an experienced hiker myself, I have gone on a few “nature walks” in my neighborhood and in the mountains. I’m obsessed with the beautiful flowers that grow wild here, in the mountains and planted in front yards.

I even checked a book out from the library to help me identify flowers.

While the wildness here is stunning, I also found a great art museum. The Leaning Tree Museum of Western Art is a few miles from downtown Boulder, and I took a picnic one Saturday to explore. Outside the museum there is a statue garden full of life size, bronze icons of the West. There were bears and buffalo, mountain lions, and statues of the Native Americans who lived in Colorado.

 

Beyond the sculpture garden there was a two-story art museum full of western art. The paintings depicted virtually every aspect of live in the Western plains. The collection was excellent, and many of the pieces were magnificent. I really enjoyed seeing such a specialized type of art, and such excellent examples of it.

So far, I’ve gotten a taste of what Boulder has to offer, but there is still more to explore. Historic downtown Pearl Street is home to tons of cute shops and great restaurants and bars that I am slowly working my way through. And there are sure to be hidden gems everywhere. Hopefully I will have another update from beautiful Boulder soon!