As a management consultant whose practice heavily involves helping people become better problem solvers and someone who co-authored a book about better problem solving (The 2,000 Percent Solution), I was struck that this book delivers much more than it claims (the opposite of most self-help books). Although ostensibly about decision making, the book also focuses well on how to identify solutions to important issues and how to be sure you follow through on the decisions you make about those issues.The book is presented as a fable, in the familiar style of The One Minute Manager (which Dr. Johnson co-authored with Kenneth Blanchard). The fable revolves around a learning exercise called The Hike, which is led by 'the guide,' an outstanding businessman who guides people through the mountains and their decisions. On The Hike, the young man learns the key principles involved in making better decisions (not optimal decisions, just better ones) and gets pointers from hikers who have been on The Hike before. During The Hike, many occurrences are used to explain the key ideas, and specific case histories are described and evaluated. The key points of each chapter are summarized in notes at chapter end, and the principles are captured in a summary at the end of the book as well.
The essence of the decision-making approach here is to test potential decisions analytically (with your intellect) and emotionally (with your heart and feelings). Most people tend to favor one or the other, at the expense of making better decisions.
On the intellectual side, you are encouraged to consider whether you are meeting your real needs (rather than vague desires), getting enough information to make a good decision, and giving the whole situation a thorough evaluation.
On the emotional side, you are directed to check the truthfulness of what you are thinking, your comfort with the potential decision, whether fear is governing you, and whether you are settling for too little.
Most people I meet who are having problems with decision making are relying too much on intellect or too much on emotions. They have a hard time seeing the benefits of more balance in their approach. This book will be very helpful to such people.
Now, this book is not a heavyweight introduction into the formal disciplines of decision making encompassed in game theory and other tools. If you are interested in learning more about those methods, you would do well to read this book and then graduate to the techniques in Smart Choices, which I have also reviewed.
In addition to what you will learn from these two books, I would also like to encourage you to study examples of people who have made great decisions in the same area, and consider analogies of perfect solutions from other areas of human endeavor. Those can stimulate improved options in your thinking that will allow you to make even better decisions.
Allocate a half hour a day to working on important decisions you are giving short shrift. This will allow you to improve enormously in the future. Decide to do this, and act now by ordering this book!
