Making Great Decisions in Business and Life |  | Authors: David R. Henderson, Charles L. Hooper
Publisher: Chicago Park Press
Category: eBooks
In Stock
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 78,993
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: First
ASIN: B002SG7OVM
Publication Date: November 5, 2005
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Product Description
DESCRIPTION
The phrase "work smarter, not harder" has been repeatedly ridiculed in the Dilbert comic strip and elsewhere, not because it is a bad idea, but because it is thrown like a brick lifesaver to drowning employees. To tell someone to work smarter is like telling someone to be happier, healthier, and richer. It's not much help to merely repeat the objective; what people need is a plan for achieving the objective. In Making Great Decisions, we show our readers how to achieve their objectives. We write to help those in business and those in the business of life--i.e., everyone--to work smarter. Our ideas are both simple and powerful. We offer a better way to look at problems so that the solutions are easier to find. We help supplement our readers' clear thinking by summarizing some of the most powerful techniques we have discovered.
REVIEWS
This brilliantly written book is a stimulating, fun read filled with great stories and examples. It has practical applications for business people, and yet is written for everyone. If my predecessors at the companies I turned around had read and understood this book, their companies wouldn t have needed me. I wish I had had this book when I taught decision analysis at Harvard. It would make a great supplementary text for virtually any course I teach. It is, simply, a great book.
--John. O. Whitney, Columbia Business School
Ignoring search costs is one of several obstacles to wisdom encountered in this lively work by an academic economist (Mr. Henderson) and a marketing consultant (Mr. Hooper). To get to "great decisions," they draw on economic concepts, on the discipline called "decision analysis" -- which is mainly about making choices in the absence of good information and in the presence of risk -- and on common sense.
-- Dan Seligman, The Wall Street Journal
Making Great Decisions flows like butter. It teaches you how to think like an economist. The results may surprise or even jolt you, as you discover all the mistakes you've been making and how to correct them.
--Barry Nalebuff, Yale School of Management
This engagingly written book does get you to think, and think more carefully, about the practical decisions in life.
-- Virginia Postrel, columnist, New York Times
This is a book that is the best of both worlds; it's full of practical advice and it's interesting. Honestly, I carried this book around with me and read it at every spare moment.
--Jack Covert, 800-CEO-READ
If you think economics is only for bookworms and whiz kids, think again. As Henderson and Hooper show, with story after colorful story, economic reasoning can help you understand everyday life - and improve the quality of your own life as well.
-- James C. Miller III, Chairman, CapAnalysis Group and former Director, Office of Management and Budget
David Henderson and Charley Hooper help the reader understand the power of decision analysis techniques through the use of practical examplesâtranslating theory into practices we can employ in our daily lives. Unlike many business books that state a single concept and beat it to death, Making Great Decisions builds one useful tool on top of another. The result: a uniquely entertaining and informative experience for the reader.
-- Gayle Mills
Vice President, Business Development
Abgenix, Inc.
I cannot think of a better book to bring home the message I think is crucial for MBA students to understand--that the insights of economics can improve their business skills and make them more effective in all walks of their lives. But you don't need to be an MBA student to benefit from this book, just someone who enjoys a well-written and interesting book and wants to make better decisions.
-- Dwight R. Lee
Coauthor of:
Getting Rich in America: Eight Simple Rules for Building a Fortune--And a Satisfying Life
Managing Through Incentives
Microeconomics for MBAs: The Economic Way of Thinking for Manager
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 How the economic way of thinking can improve your life December 7, 2005
Dwight R. Lee (Dunwoody, GA USA)
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
Far too many people see economics as difficult, boring, and totally irrelevant to their daily lives. Henderson and Hooper demonstrate in clear and compelling language that economics is really a straightforward and exciting way to make your life more productive and enjoyable. With a large number of short, interesting and largely diagram-free examples, the authors do exactly what the title of their book promises. They show the reader how to make great decisions in their businesses and their lives. Mentioning two of their many topics, the book emphasizes how easy it is to let your fantasies obscure the realities you face and lead you into harmful decisions with a number of useful examples. There is a wonderful discussion on the importance of considering cost and being careful to distinguish between real cost and what is easily thought of as cost, but isn't.
I will be teaching a one-half semester capstone MBA course on economics in the second half of the spring semester, and this book will be the central reading. I cannot think of a better book to bring home the message I think is crucial for MBA students to understand--that the insights of economics can improve their business skills and make them more effective in all walks of their lives. But you don't need to be an MBA student to benefit from this book. Just someone who enjoys a well-written and interesting book and wants to make better decisions.
Personal advice book based in sound economics February 21, 2007
Maxim
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
When was the last time you saw a personal advice book that, instead of using some type of trendy "pop-psychology" approach, applied economic theory? This is what makes David Henderson and Charles Hooper's book Making Great Decisions so unique. At the same time, the authors make the application of economics seem simple. Easily understandable language replaces economic jargon, and the point of a paragraph is never ambiguous.
The book is packed with interesting, real-life examples and conversations. It overflows with personal stories, each to make a point or to illustrate a particular concept.
Most of the economic principles that are applied come right out of Econ 101. For example, the authors advise readers to ignore "sunk costs" (expenses that have already been made, in time or money) when making decisions. In other words, your initial investment, whether in the form of yearlong training to climb Mt. Everest or the establishment of a coin shop, should not be considered when deciding whether to pursue the venture further.
The authors say that one common error made by companies and individuals is assigning the wrong priorities to projects. They point to a company that spent far more money and time deciding how to make company printers more alike than it did determining whether to license a product worth $100 million a year. They should have realized the massive difference in importance between the two problems and divided resources accordingly.
The authors give personal advice throughout the book. "Think on the margin," they say. Henderson gives as an example his procrastination in graduate school, when he needed to complete his dissertation. He estimated that he would have to put in six hours a day to finish his dissertation before the deadline, but instead found himself avoiding the work day after day. The solution, he found, was to aim to work just two hours every day. This modest goal made it easy for Henderson to get started on his work every day, and once he had started, he found it easier to keep going. Think on the margin, the authors advise; even if you can't get a full six hours of writing done, two are better than none.
While the advice is very much apolitical, with the goal of helping the reader make better decisions, the basis for it relies on free-market economic theory. Some parts of the book reflect this essentially libertarian political approach. The authors remind us, for example, that recycling is not free and that, depending on the value of one's time, it may not be worthwhile to sort recyclables and carry them to the curb every week.
They also debunk complaints about sweatshop labor, warning readers beforehand that they are "about to challenge a commonly accepted belief". Sure, the workers have low pay and poor conditions by American standards - but what is their alternative? The foreign workers voluntarily chose "sweatshop" employment over their other choices. Will they be better off if western activists eliminate that option? This issue is cited by the authors as an example of people making the mistake of choosing fantasy over reality. The western activists would like everyone to live well, but don't realize that eliminating jobs, even low-paying ones, is not a solution. Though not generally taking political stances, in the few issues that the authors do take on, their reasoning is well thought out and deserves mention.
David Henderson and Charles Hooper wrap the book up with a short discussion on ethics: Unethical practices are almost always bad business. They point out that your actions will determine what others will think of you, which in turn affects business opportunities. Sticking to form, Henderson gives an example from his business dealings with people. Adam Smith is lauded his idea of "the invisible hand" - the notion that one unintentionally helps society simply by working to make a profit.
In Making Great Decisions, the authors show that economic theory can be applied to everyday life and decision-making. The book flows smoothly with plentiful examples and has a lively writing style. But perhaps most importantly, it is hard to find fault with the advice.
The Swiss knife of problem solving February 21, 2006
Rózsás Tamás (Budapest, Hungary)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Making Great Decisions is a great book! The authors do not only provide a complete collection of effective decision making tools but also make professional decision making concepts simple to use and simple to understand. The result is a versatile book suitable to support decision makers and problem solvers in various settings. For professionals, it provides a quick reference of important concepts and a guide for the decision making process. For personal decisions, Making Great Decisions is a treasure box of powerful tools without the need for the resources of a corporate headquarters. Beyond decision making, the book also helps with handling complex problems and identifying situations when different techniques of decision making can be useful. As a capstone, the authors also explain the relation between good morals and good decisions - an important lesson to learn in many parts of the world.
The reader will find the book useful in such different environments like the public and private sector, or U.S. and international settings (I work and make decisions in Hungary's public sector). Making Great Decisions will be essential for professionals who need to convince partners with less developed decision making culture of the advantages of formal decision making. Think of joint ventures in emerging markets or reconstruction in Iraq! Cooperation with locals in decision making can be crucial for lasting results, and building trust or winning support is easier if you can explain the process clearly and quickly. Beyond improving their own decisions, personal decision makers can understand how decisions are made by organizations of various scales.
Real life, personal stories transform the learning experience into a recreational activity even for individuals not really fond of management and economic topics. I recommend Making Great Decisions for everyone who wants to handle problems in personal life or carrier more effectively without the risk of loosing important points between the lines of boring textbooks.
Economics can be interesting, even fun January 2, 2007
Jerry Dwyer (Lawrenceville, ga USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a book in which you can learn some economics, you'll actually be fairly glad to learn it and you'll be very glad you know it when you're done reading the book.
One of the disadvantages of teaching economics is an all-too-frequent conversation when meeting people. When someone finds out what I do, they say "That was the hardest course that I took in college." Unfortunately, I also know what's implied. They learned little and probably remember virtually nothing.
And that's a shame. Economics is not just about graphs, obscure equations and abstract notions.
Economics is a useful way of thinking about the world. In this book, you'll see that basic economic notions can be used to help you make decisions in your everyday life. The usefulness is illustrated with many stories, all informative and some amusing.
The authors go further than basic economics, including decision science and thoughtful common sense. For example, you'll find out how David Henderson resolved a problem with hard pillows at an otherwise fine hotel by buying better pillows, and why this made more sense than going to a better hotel. This is the start of a chapter on creating better alternatives, in which the authors make the point that evaluating alternatives requires thought and sometimes imagination.
It's a fun read, besides which it's well written and clear. You're unlikely to be sorry that you read it.
excellent thinking tool September 1, 2006
Bill Dyszel (New York, NY)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Sometimes you don't need revolutionary new information to start doing things better, you just need a new way of seeing things. This book did that for me. It offers simple, clear methods of evaluating your choices that allow you to move forward effectively.
I should have bought it sooner, but I couldn't decide.
Bill Dyszel, Author, Microsoft Outlook for Dummies
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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