Wise Decisions

Introduction

Let's face it: Human beings are flawed decision makers. The corporate world is replete with examples: Blockbuster Video rejected Netflix; Kodak could have become the next Apple had the leadership made better decisions; Excite could have purchased Google for $750,000; Ross Perot passed on Microsoft; Motorola decided against smartphones; DECCA records turned down the Beatles, and on and on. And then there are the catastrophic examples of faulty decision‐making at Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom, and Halliburton, to mention just a few. And how about Congress? The approval rating of Congress, according to Gallup in January 2022, was only 18%! Put another way, 82% of those polled disagree with the decisions made by Congress.

The data on personal finance decisions is equally disturbing. Eight percent of all people who file for bankruptcy have filed at least once before and 5% of bankruptcy cases are attributed to reckless spending. Well‐educated people file 20% of American bankruptcies. It is estimated that 14 million Americans have over $10,000 of credit card debt. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reports that 42% of all marriages result in divorce. The combination of four healthy lifestyle choices—maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, following a healthy diet, and not smoking—are associated with an 80% reduction in the risk of developing chronic diseases but, in spite of the evidence, large numbers of well‐informed people continue to make ...