Decide and Conquer The Ultimate Guide for Improving Your Decision Making

by Robbins, Stephen P.

• ISBN13: 9780133966732
• ISBN10: 0133966739
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-10-20
• Publisher: Ft Pr

Summary

Make better decisions – every day, everywhere! Decide and Conquer, Second Edition brings together all the practical skills you need to do just that. This quick, concise book identifies every key obstacle to quality decision-making and shows exactly how to overcome them. You'll discover how your personality impacts your decision-making, why instincts and experience can lead you astray, how to simplify complex decisions without oversimplifying them and much more.

Renowned management author Dr. Stephen P. Robbins translates cutting-edge research findings about human behavior and decision-making into language anyone can understand – and act upon. In this Second Edition, he provides many new and updated examples, updated research, and new coverage, including these crucial new topics:

• Are you a Maximizer or a Satisficer – and what it means for your decision-making
• Overcoming the familiarity bias, adaptation bias, and fear-of-loss bias
• How to stop throwing good money after bad
• Knowing when doing nothing is your best option
• Accounting for gendered decision-making styles

Decide and Conquer, Second Edition covers everything from goal-setting and risk-taking to overconfidence to procrastination, and offers indispensable insights for overcoming the multiple biases that are built into all human decision-makers. You'll use Robbins' powerful techniques to improve every decision you make – about your relationships, career, finances, everything!

Author Biography

DR. STEPHEN P. ROBBINS (San Diego, CA) is the world's best-selling textbook author in the areas of management and organizational behavior. His books have sold more than 6 million copies, have been translated into 20 languages, and are used at more than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities. Robbins' Organizational Behavior, Ninth Edition (Prentice Hall) is a market leader throughout North America, Central America, South America, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, India, China and Scandinavia. Author of Managing Today and co-author of Management, Fifth Edition and Fundamentals of Management, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona and has served in management roles for Shell and Reynolds Metals. He currently is a member of the San Diego State University faculty.

Table of Contents

Part I. Introduction

1. Decision Making Shapes Your Life

2. The Search for Rationality

3. Why It's Hard to be Rational

Part II. How Do You Make Decisions?

4. What's Your Decision Style?

5. Are You a Risk Taker?

6. Are You a Maximizer or Satisficer?

7. Who Controls Your Destiny?

8. Do You Procrastinate?

9. Are You Impulsive?

10. Can You Control Your Emotions?

11. Are You Overconfident?

12. Understanding Your Personality Profile

Part III. Common Biases and Errors That Most of Us Make

(and How to Overcome Them)

13. How Can You Be So Darn Sure About That? Coping with Overconfidence

14. Never Do Today that Which You Can Do Tomorrow: The Inertia Bias

15. I Want It and I Want it NOW! The Immediate Gratification Bias

16. Where You End Up Depends on Where You Start: The Anchoring Effect

17. I'll See It When I Believe It: The Selective Perception Bias

18. I Hear What I Want to Hear: The Confirmation Bias

19. Is the Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full? The Framing Bias

20. What Have You Done for Me Lately? The Availability Bias

21. Looks Can Be Deceiving: The Representation Bias

22. Seeing Patterns That Aren't There: Coping with Randomness

23. I Only Like Change That Jingles in My Pocket: The Familiarity Bias

24. Gone Is Not Always Forgotten: Understanding Sunk Costs

25. I Hate Losing: The Fear of Loss Bias

26. Keep It Simple: The Limited Search Error

27. Losing Your Head in the Heat of Battle: The Emotional Involvement Error

28. Who You Gonna Blame? The Self-Serving Bias

29. Novelty Wears Off: The Adaptation Bias

30. I Knew It All The Time: The Hindsight Bias

Part IV. Advice Your Mother Never Gave You

31. Clear Goals and Preferences Make Choosing a Lot Easier

32. Sometimes Doing Nothing Is Your Best Option

33. Choosing Not to Decide Is Still a Decision

34. Decisions Are Not Made in Isolation

35. All Decisions Aren't Important

36. More Information Isn't Necessarily Better

37. You CAN Have Too Much of a Good Thing

38. Don't Rehash Past Decisions

39. Successful People Take Risks

40. It's OK to Make Mistakes, or No One Has an Undefeated Season

41. Don't Throw Good Money After Bad

42. Women Ruminate More Than Men

43. Where You're From Influences How You Decide

Part V. An Epilogue

44. Summary or Why Ignorance Isn't Bliss

End Notes

The #1 quick plain-English guide to better decision-making -- now updated with new techniques based on new scientific research!