Decision Quality

Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Biographies Part I The Decision Quality Framework 1 The Power of Decisions Decision Quality: A Framework for Better Decisions Decision Skills Can be Learned Decisions Versus Outcomes KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER 2 The Requirements for Decision Quality The Appropriate Frame Creative Alternatives Relevant and Reliable Information Clear Values and Tradeoffs Sound Reasoning Commitment to Action JUDGING THE QUALITY OF A DECISION Key Points to Remember Endnotes 3 Getting to Decision Quality Declaring the Need for a Decision Setting the Decision Agenda Understanding the Destination of Decision Quality Avoiding Decision Traps and biases Designing the Decision Process through Diagnosis Tailoring to fit the decision KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER Endnotes Part II The Six Requirements for DQ 4 The Appropriate Frame A Friday Afternoon Dilemma The Key Components of a frame Framing the Friday Afternoon Dilemma An Extended Example: THE House Decision Developing an Appropriate Frame The Decision Hierarchy: A Tool for Framing Things that Can Go Wrong Judging the Quality of a Decision Frame Key Points to Remember Endnotes 5 Creative Alternatives Characteristics of Good Alternatives The Strategy Table: A Tool for Defining Alternatives Things that Can Go Wrong Judging the Quality of Alternatives Key Points to Remember Endnotes 6 Relevant and Reliable Information INFORMATION FROM A DECISION PERSPECTIVE An Extended Example: Michael's Job Choice STRUCTURING THE RELEVANT INFORMATION IN A DECISION The Decision Tree: A Tool for Structuring a Decision What is Reliable? Things that Can Go Wrong Judging the Quality of Information Key Points to Remember Endnotes 7 Clear Values and Tradeoffs Values and tradeoffs for Decisions Michael's Values and Tradeoffs Values in a Business Context Making Tradeoffs in Business Decisions Things that Can Go Wrong Judging the Quality of Values Key Points to Remember Endnotes 8 Sound Reasoning Reasoning for Michael's Job Decision Reasoning in More Complex Decisions The Relevance Diagram: A Tool for Structuring Complex Decisions The DECISION MODEL: A Tool for analyzing Complex Decisions The Tornado Diagram: A Tool for Displaying the Relevance of Information Flying Bars: A Tool for Displaying Overall Uncertainty Things that Can Go Wrong When to Get Help with Reasoning The Power of ITERATING FROM A SIMPLE START Judging the Quality of Reasoning Key Points to Remember Endnotes 9 Commitment to Action Two Mindsets: Decision and Action Commitment through Participation and Ownership Conscious Commitment Things that Can Go Wrong Judging the Quality of Commitment to Action Key Points to Remember Part III How to Achieve DQ 10 Biases and Traps in Decision-Making MECHANISMS OF THE MIND Protection of Mindset Personality and Habits Faulty Reasoning Automatic Associations and Relative Thinking Social Influences Summing Up Endnotes 11 Megabiases that Undermine DQ DQ and Megabiases Megabias #1: Narrow Framing Megabias #2: The Illusion of DQ Megabias #3: The Agreement Trap Megabias #4: The Comfort Zone Megabias Megabias #5: The Advocacy/Approval Myth General Guidelines for Avoiding Megabiases Endnotes 12 Achieving Quality in Strategic Decisions The Dialogue Decision Process Four Phases of Dialogue Every Decision Situation is Different Advantages of the DDP 13 Achieving Quality in Significant Decisions THE DQ APPRAISAL CYCLE: ITERATING OUR WAY TO DQ The DQ Appraisal Cycle in Action: ROBIN'S CAREER CROSSROADS Summing Up Part IV The Journey to DQ 14 The Amoco Unleaded Gasoline Decision Getting Started on the Unleaded Decision Seeking Greater Clarity on the Key Uncertainty Competing Reports The Bottom Line Decades of Experience in Improving Value Endnotes 15 Building Organizational Decision Quality Organizational DQ The Components of ODQ Reaching ODQ Chevron's Journey to ODQ Taking the First Step Endnotes 16 Embarking on the DQ Journey What Next? Endnotes References