Decide and Conquer: The Ultimate Guide for Improving Your Decision Making, Second Edition

Decide and Conquer: The Ultimate Guide for Improving Your Decision Making, Second Edition

by Stephen P. Robbins
Released October 2014
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780133966862

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Book description

Make better decisions – every day, everywhere! Decide and Conquer, Second Editionbrings 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 Editioncovers 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!

    Table of contents

    1. About This eBook
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright Page
    4. Dedication Page
    5. Contents
    6. About the Author
    7. Preface
    8. Part I: Introduction
      1. 1. Decision Making Shapes Your Life
        1. Decision Tips
      2. 2. The Search for Rationality
        1. Decision Tips
      3. 3. Why It’s Hard to Be Rational
        1. Decision Tips
    9. Part II: How Do You Make Decisions?
      1. 4. What’s Your Decision Style?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Decision-Making Style
      2. 5. Are You a Risk-Taker?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Risk Taking
      3. 6. Are You a Maximizer or Satisficer?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Maximizing and Satisficing
      4. 7. Who Controls Your Destiny?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Locus of Control
      5. 8. Do You Procrastinate?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Procrastination
      6. 9. Are You Impulsive?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Impulsiveness
      7. 10. Can You Control Your Emotions?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Emotions
      8. 11. Are You Overconfident?
        1. How to Score
        2. What Does Your Score Mean?
        3. Understanding Overconfidence
      9. 12. Understanding Your Personality Profile
        1. Decision Tips
    10. Part III: Common Biases and Errors That Most of Us Make (and How to Overcome Them)
      1. 13. How Can You Be So Darn Sure About That? Coping with Overconfidence
        1. Decision Tips
      2. 14. Never Do Today That Which You Can Do Tomorrow: The Inertia Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      3. 15. I Want It, and I Want It NOW! The Immediate Gratification Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      4. 16. Where You End Up Depends on Where You Start: The Anchoring Effect
        1. Decision Tips
      5. 17. I’ll See It When I Believe It: The Selective Perception Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      6. 18. I Hear What I Want to Hear: The Confirmation Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      7. 19. Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full? The Framing Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      8. 20. What Have You Done for Me Lately? The Availability Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      9. 21. Looks Can Be Deceiving: The Representation Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      10. 22. Seeing Patterns That Aren’t There: Coping with Randomness
        1. Decision Tips
      11. 23. I Only Like Change That Jingles in My Pocket: The Familiarity Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      12. 24. Gone Is Not Always Forgotten: Understanding Sunk Costs
        1. Decision Tips
      13. 25. Keep It Simple: The Limited Search Error
        1. Decision Tips
      14. 26. Losing Your Head in the Heat of Battle: The Emotional Involvement Error
        1. Decision Tips
      15. 27. Who You Gonna Blame? The Self-Serving Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      16. 28. Novelty Wears Off: The Adaptation Bias
        1. Decision Tips
      17. 29. I Knew It All the Time: The Hindsight Bias
        1. Decision Tips
    11. Part IV: Advice Your Mother Never Gave You
      1. 30. Clear Goals and Preferences Make Choosing a Lot Easier
        1. Decision Tips
      2. 31. Sometimes Doing Nothing Is Your Best Option
        1. Decision Tips
      3. 32. Choosing Not to Decide Is Still a Decision
        1. Decision Tips
      4. 33. Decisions Are Not Made in Isolation
        1. Decision Tips
      5. 34. All Decisions Aren’t Important
        1. Decision Tips
      6. 35. More Information Isn’t Necessarily Better
        1. Decision Tips
      7. 36. You Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing
        1. Decision Tips
      8. 37. Don’t Rehash Past Decisions
        1. Decision Tips
      9. 38. Successful People Take Risks
        1. Decision Tips
      10. 39. It’s Okay to Make Mistakes, or No One Has an Undefeated Season
        1. Decision Tips
      11. 40. Experience Can Improve Decisions, But...
        1. Decision Tips
      12. 41. Where You’re from Influences How You Decide
        1. Decision Tips
    12. Part V: An Epilogue
      1. 42. Summary, or Why Ignorance Isn’t Bliss
    13. Endnotes
      1. Chapter 2
      2. Chapter 3
      3. Chapter 4
      4. Chapter 5
      5. Chapter 6
      6. Chapter 7
      7. Chapter 8
      8. Chapter 9
      9. Chapter 10
      10. Chapter 11
      11. Chapter 13
      12. Chapter 14
      13. Chapter 15
      14. Chapter 16
      15. Chapter 17
      16. Chapter 18
      17. Chapter 19
      18. Chapter 20
      19. Chapter 21
      20. Chapter 22
      21. Chapter 23
      22. Chapter 24
      23. Chapter 25
      24. Chapter 26
      25. Chapter 27
      26. Chapter 28
      27. Chapter 29
      28. Chapter 30
      29. Chapter 31
      30. Chapter 32
      31. Chapter 35
      32. Chapter 36
      33. Chapter 37
      34. Chapter 38
      35. Chapter 39
      36. Chapter 40
      37. Chapter 41
    14. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Decide and Conquer: The Ultimate Guide for Improving Your Decision Making, Second Edition
    • Author(s): Stephen P. Robbins
    • Release date: October 2014
    • Publisher(s): Pearson
    • ISBN: 9780133966862