Decision making is a difficult skill to master.
We often agonize over decisions, big and small, personal and professional.
We can spend hours debating pros and cons, only to feel no closer to a resolution.
And when we do make a decision, we can second-guess ourselves endlessly.
There are, however, ways to make decision making easier.
The first step is to educate yourself on the subject.
To that end, here are five of the best books on decision making
They’re all written by experts on the subject and offer different perspectives on how to approach the topic.
The 5 Best Books on Decision Making
1. Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip and Dan Heath
Chip and Dan Heath discuss how individuals can make better choices by understanding the factors that contribute to poor decision-making.
The Heath brothers identify four decision traps that lead to bad choices: sunk cost fallacy, confirmation bias, endowment effect, and overconfidence.
The sunk cost fallacy is the belief that we should continue investing in something as long as we have invested so much in it in the past, regardless of whether or not it is currently beneficial.
Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for information that confirms our preexisting beliefs, rather than considering all available evidence.
The endowment effect is the belief that we should value something more simply because we own it.
And overconfidence is the mistaken belief that we are better at making decisions than we actually are.
The Heath brothers offer a number of strategies for overcoming these decision traps.
- To avoid the sunk cost fallacy, for example, we should ask ourselves whether continuing to invest in something will actually bring us closer to our goals.
- To overcome confirmation bias, we should seek out dissenting opinions and consider all evidence objectively.
- To avoid the endowment effect, we should remember that what matters most is what we do with an object, not whether or not we own it.
- And to overcome overconfidence, we should solicit feedback from others and test our assumptions before making decisions.
The Heath brothers also emphasize the importance of taking time to reflect on our choices.
We should ask ourselves what went well and what went poorly in order to learn from our successes and failures.
We should also consider how our choices will affect others, both now and in the future.
2. How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
“How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer is a book about the workings of the human brain, specifically how it makes decisions.
The book discusses different decision-making strategies and offers insights into how the brain processes information.
It also includes case studies of people who have made notable decisions, such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
The first part of the book examines how the brain takes in information and decides what to focus on.
Lehrer argues that the brain is constantly filtering out irrelevant information in order to focus on what’s important.
He cites several studies demonstrating how the brain can quickly process large amounts of data.
For example, one study showed that people can accurately predict the outcome of a soccer game after seeing just five seconds of footage.
Lehrer also discusses how the brain deals with uncertainty.
He argues that the brain is constantly trying to calculate probabilities and make predictions.
This helps to reduce uncertainty and allows the brain to make better decisions.
The second part of the book looks at different decision-making strategies.
Lehrer discusses two main strategies: deliberative and intuitive.
The deliberative strategy is based on reason and analysis, while the intuitive strategy relies on instinct and gut feelings.
Lehrer argues that both strategies are necessary, and that neither one is inherently better than the other.
He also discusses the role of emotions in decision-making, suggesting that emotions play an important role in helping us make quick, instinctive decisions.
However, he notes that emotions can also lead to irrational decisions if they’re not tempered by reason.
The final part of the book looks at some famous cases of decision-making.
Lehrer discusses Steve Jobs’ decision to drop out of college, Bill Gates’ decision to start Microsoft, and General Stanley McChrystal’s decision to implement a counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
Each case provides unique insights into how different factors (such as intuition, emotion, and reason) can affect decision-making.
3. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz
The Paradox of Choice discusses the negative effects that too much choice can have on people.
Schwartz argues that too many choices can lead to anxiety, paralysis, and dissatisfaction.
He provides a number of examples to illustrate his point, including the decision to go to college, the number of brands of toothpaste available in modern society, and the variety of products available at grocery stores.
Schwartz suggests that people are overwhelmed by the amount of choice they are faced with and that this can lead to them making poor decisions.
He also argues that having too many choices can make people unhappy because it increases the chances that they will not be able to find a product or service that meets their needs.
Schwartz recommends that people limit the number of choices they are faced with whenever possible in order to reduce the negative effects that too much choice can have on them.
4. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
In Algorithms to Live By, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths cover the topic of how computer science can be applied to human decision making.
The book is written in a way that is easy to understand for a general audience, and it provides many practical examples we can utilize.
One of the main topics covered in the book is the idea of bounded rationality, which is the idea that humans are not able to make perfect decisions due to limited time and resources.
This concept is often explored in computer science through algorithms, which are designed to help make the best possible decision given a set of constraints.
The book also explores the concept of probability and how it can be used to help with decision-making.
For example, probability can be used to calculate the chances of an event occurring, which can then be used to make better choices.
Overall, this book provides a useful alternative look at the subject and covers everything, from the choices we make about what food to eat, to figuring out how likely it is that a particular event will occur.
5. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Nudge is a book about how people make decisions and how those decisions can be influenced.
The book explores the idea of libertarian paternalism, which is the idea that it is possible to help people make better decisions without taking away their freedom.
The authors argue that many people make poor decisions because they are not aware of the options available to them or because they do not have the information they need to make a good decision.
They claim that it is possible to help people make better decisions by providing them with information and by making it easier for them to choose the right option.
The book discusses a number of different ways that people can be nudged in the right direction.
One example is the use of default settings.
The authors argue that it is often easier for people to do nothing than to take action, so it is important to make it easy for them to do the right thing.
Another example is the use of simple messages.
The authors claim that simple messages are more likely to be effective than complex messages, and that people are more likely to act on a message if it is easy to understand.
The book also explores the idea of framing, which is the way in which information is presented.
The authors suggest that people are more likely to respond positively to information if it is framed in a positive way.
They also argue that people are more likely to take action if given a choice rather than told what to do.
Summary: Making the Right Choice
Decision making is a crucial skill to learn in order to be successful in life.
There are a plethora of different techniques one can use to make better decisions, whether it is for personal or professional purposes.
The five books mentioned in this article provide excellent introductions to the topic of decision making and how to improve one’s skills in this area.
