"Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda"

"Woulda, Coulda Shoulda" - that expression of regret over previous decisions may become happily relegated to your past life after you check out Decisive: How To Make Better Choices in Life and Work. Decisive is co-authored by bicoastal brothers, Chip and Dan Heath. Chip is a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and teaches courses on business strategy and organizations. Dan is a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s CASE Center for Social Entrepreneurs. The duo capably translate academic jargon into highly readable prose to answer the essential question - how can you triumph over bias, irrationality and overconfidence and make better decisions?


The authors have devised a handy acronym to guide your new decision-making process – WRAP.
Widen Your Options
Reality Test Your Assumptions
Attain Some Distances
Prepare To Be Wrong

Throughout the book, the authors provide a plethora of examples – humorous, ingenious, simple, and complex to illustrate the strength of WRAPping your mind around the decision and producing the best possible outcome. Each chapter is succinctly summarized on its final page . Even the endnotes are truly fun to peruse, witty and chock-full of fascinating case studies.

RR@RR

P.S. An easy decision – I heard Chip Heath speak at last year’s Tucson Festival of Books. He was handily one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard – providing a continuous infusion of information laced with humor and the wittiest PowerPoint presentation I’ve ever seen. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him in person, don’t hesitate.

P. P. S. Cocktail Party Chatter – It was Ben Franklin, who devised the Pros and Cons list. Chip and Dan easily shoot down its reliability in decision making.