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Whenever a book consists of 600 years of experience and 3 years of research by the authors on something as important as decision making, I will definitely invest the time to read it. Worse than that, I paid a total of $7 to get this knowledge. I picked up this book on a whim and I can tell you that it is very good and the lessons in the book will make you a better leader and decision maker.
Why is this important to me? As usual, this can be answered with an additional question. Would it be useful to have a framework for decisions? Decision making is one of the most important skills you need to master to be successful in any business. Sometimes your decisions change your life. Most people are afraid of making decisions. Do you know people who are bland and have trouble making a decision? Or what about people who can make decisions for themselves, but once others get involved, they fall apart. How Wise Men Decide will help guide yourself and your team if you are a leader or manager in making good decisions. In 1962, the world almost ended. The Cuban missile crisis almost ended in a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Imagine being on the sidelines knowing that the decisions you make will have the fate of humanity on your shoulders. Needless to say, President Kennedy did a great job; otherwise he wouldn’t be watching this video. In a nutshell, you’ll find relevant information you can use RIGHT NOW to make better decisions.
This book is divided into 6 relevant strategies that the 21 leaders described use to make wise decisions. For reasons of time, we will briefly summarize each one.
1. Go to the source: When I was a kid, we used to play a game called telephone. You say something to your friend and then your friend says the same thing to the next person and when he comes back to you, what was said is totally different. This happens all the time in organizations. There is a lot of information to collect, the question is whether it is the correct information. People generally don’t want to deliver bad news, so they will dilute it as they move up the chain to the decision maker. The key to avoiding this is to go to the source. Example: Bill George, president of Medtronic, spent his first 90 days on the job in the operating room observing his products in action. The balloon catheter he was looking at today had slow sales. He found out firsthand why when the surgeon pulled out the defective part and threw it at him and used his competitors to do the job. It goes without saying that going to the source provides the correct information for troubleshooting.
2. Fill a room with barbarians: When you have a tough decision to make, place the holders of the stack in a room, fight and argue until you have a good decision. Seeking and promoting decency generates two advantages. First, it forces everyone to participate and give their opinion, which exposes the strengths and weaknesses of each possible decision. Second, a good discussion can reframe the problem in a new light to arrive at a better decision. People should feel comfortable speaking their minds and not worry if they do NOT agree with the boss. Also, once a decision is made, EVERYONE should support it, even if their choice was not chosen.
3. Overcome the fear of risk: Psychologist Daniel Kahneman says, “If I flip a coin and it comes up heads, I’ll send you $1,000, but if it comes up tails, then write me a check for $500. Most people won’t.” “. because they fear the loss of $500 more than the gain of $1,000 even though they should take it whenever the FEAR FACTOR gets too great. The key here is to fully UNDERSTAND RISK and not fear it. The more information you collect, the better decisions
4. Make vision your daily guide: Wise leaders know that to make the best decisions you need not only the right vision, but also the discipline to let vision guide every decision you make, even seemingly innocuous daily tactical choices.
5. Listen with purpose. I have read countless books and I cannot stress enough that listening is a skill you need to master in order to be successful. Listening with purpose means you are prepared BEFORE the meeting and are seeking input on PURPOSE. This is different from just paying attention. You want to challenge and debate to come to the best decision, but to do so you need to be prepared and listen.
6. Be transparent: what would you call a big decision that doesn’t get executed? Nothing but a dream. Decisions begin by being announced. But to be executed they must be honest about how and why they came to that decision. Telling the full story prevents rumors and doubts from siphoning off your team’s energy and efforts. Remember that you need the whole team to execute and that includes the people who were on the opposite side of the decision. Transparency is the key to achieving execution.
90% of the value a leader provides comes from the most important and challenging 10% of their decisions. This means that to be an effective decision maker, you must have a proven methodology. This book helps in that effort.
I hope you have found this brief summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in as little as 21 days. One thing you can learn and make a habit of is LISTENING WITH A PURPOSE. If you are asked to attend a meeting or do something, then there is a reason for it. Be prepared and ask relevant questions. You’ll become an asset to your team and hone a key skill for success.