Super Deciders
Description
Dramatically improve the decisions you make every day using insights from the latest neuroscience
We make hundreds of decisions daily, from small ones - such as what to wear today and how to drive to work - to big ones - such as the company strategy and whether to launch a restructuring program that may impact thousands of people. In business, studies suggest that company executives spend 40% of their time making decisions and that the effectiveness of their decisions largely drives the results of the companies that they lead.
In Super Deciders: The Science and Practice of Making Decisions in Dynamic and Uncertain Times, a team of renown researchers and business advisors deliver an application of the latest advances in neuroscience to effectively making the most difficult decisions, those we make in dynamic environments, in situations of uncertainty when we need to predict outcomes, we're missing relevant information, time is scarce, and the environment is constantly changing.
The book is written in three parts. In the first part, the book offers a practical framework for making effective decisions under uncertainty. In the second part, the book discusses approaches to effectively implement those decisions, thus managing change at every level, from the individual to the organizational. Finally, the book develops suggestions on how leaders can diagnose and improve - in themselves and in the people they lead - the cognitive abilities relevant to decision-making.
You'll also find:
- An enlightening business narrative detailing the journey of a fictional leader of an international travel operator named Inuk.
- Six cases that put you into real-life situations of making difficult decisions and that help you assess your decision-making effectiveness.
- An accessible and fun introduction to the neuroscience of decision-making.
Ideal for managers, executives, directors, and other business leaders, Super Deciders is a can't-miss decision-making playbook that you've been waiting for.
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Persons
CLAUDIO FESER, a senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company, serves on multiple company boards, including as chairperson. He teaches innovation and leadership at the University of St. Gallen and ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
DANIELLA LAUREIRO-MARTINEZ is a Senior Scientist in the Technology and Innovation Management Group at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where she leads the COLAB, a research group focused on cognition, learning and adaptive behavior.
KAROLIN FRANKENBERGER is Professor of Strategic Management and Innovation and the Dean of the Executive School of Management, Technology and Law at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
STEFANO BRUSONI is Professor of Technology and Innovation Management and Vice-Rector for Continuing Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Content
Foreword by Mario Greco xiii
Introduction xix
Prologue xxvii
Part One: Understanding Decisions Under Uncertainty
Chapter 1: Making Great Predictions 3
Chapter 2: Case 1: Making People Decisions 19
Chapter 3: Developing Options to Approximate the Right Decision 29
Part Two: Making Decisions Under Uncertainty
Chapter 4: Case 2: Making Strategic Decisions 57
Chapter 5: Identifying Assumptions and Testing Them 69
Chapter 6: Case 3: Making Decisions About Company Growth 95
Chapter 7: Developing Better Options 107
Part Three: Managing the Tensions Created by Decisions Under Uncertainty
Chapter 8: Case 4: Implementing Decisions 129
Chapter 9: Managing Change 135
Part Four: Becoming Super Deciders
Chapter 10: Case 5: Making Work- Life Balance Decisions 157
Chapter 11: Becoming Better at Making Decisions 165
Chapter 12: Case 6: Making "Tough" Decisions 185
Chapter 13: Preparing to Be Wrong 195
Part Five: Conclusions
Chapter 14: Epilogue 211
Chapter 15: Conclusions 215
Notes 225
Appendixes 227
References 249
About the Authors 267
Index 271
Additional praise for Super Deciders
Besides providing an invaluable tool for decision-making in dynamic and uncertain times, the Super Deciders explores the role of personal inclinations, emotions, and values in decision-making. In doing so, it helps build self-awareness, empowering decision-makers make choices that align with their values and goals.
-Alain Bejjani, former Chief Executive Officer of Majid al Futtaim
The Super Deciders is a guide that blends the latest research with practical tools to chart your course wisely. It should be considered by every leader and strategist looking to thrive in an unpredictable world.
-André Wyss, Chief Executive Officer of Implenia
In times of permacrisis in business, as in life uncertainty abounds. Success heads of this volatile reality by embracing the notion of probability. In two instances in the past I had to face such challenges: first by defining the entry strategy in totally new markets of Central Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall for ABB and secondly by ensuring a resilient supply chain and substantial impact on profitability during the financial crisis in 2008 for Siemens. The newly issued decision navigator is based on recent findings in neurology, management, and psychology. It is a comprehensive and useful model for thriving in today's ambiguous, volatile and fast-changing markets.
-Barbara Kux, Multiple Board Director
This book brilliantly develops a powerful framework of the decision-making process and integrates scientific principles, hypotheses testing, and real-world applications while offering approaches for leaders to work on themselves to become better decision-makers in the complexities of our dynamically evolving world. Making important decisions under uncertainty is a quite frequent reality in the business, public administration, and academic world, but an insufficiently researched topic with limited insightful practical advice. This book fills the gap making it an essential read for all present and future leaders.
-Bruno Pfister, Corporate Director and Private Investor, former CEO of Swiss Life Group
This book is a compass for decision-makers in a fast-paced world. It expertly combines the science of decision making with practical insights, ensuring that leaders are well-prepared to succeed in today's dynamic and uncertain times.
-F. Michael Ball, Chairman of Alcon
Just thinking about if you should be getting another coffee or not is a grind? Then this book's for you. Isabelle Dubois, the book's main character will take you thru the newest decision-making techniques. And prepare you for the VUCA world we live in. The story will draw you in in not time.
-Fabian Unteregger, Comedian, Entrepreneur, and Author.
Making decisions is fun and making the right decisions even more so!! However, the luxury of having choices in our professional and private lives may become a burden when being concerned about the risks of wrong decisions. Assuming that there is no wrong decision at the time it was made-because it was made with the best of knowledge, tools, intuition and at the right speed-is hence liberating. This book is giving us the tools to feel that way and, if in hindsight we did not make this expected "super decision", the book helps us to understand that we are on a journey and learning from the wrong decisions will turn the multiple decision-making paths into inspiration and success.
-Jean-Christophe Deslarzes, Chair of the Adecco Group and Chair of Constellium
Super Deciders is a must-read for decision-makers in today's fast-changing environment. The decision model that the book outlines, combines intuition and experience with experimentation. It not only leads to better decision making, it also helps to build agile, learning organizations that will thrive in today's markets.
-Joe Jimenez, former Chief Executive Officer of Novartis
Decisions have a lot to do with us, with our feelings, our emotions, our values, and our personalities. This book explains how all these factors shape the decisions we make and how-working on ourselves - we can learn to make better decisions.
-Kathrin Amacker, Board President Max Havelaar Foundation, Board Member Basel University, former Member Executive Board Swisscom and SBB
There is a growing gap for senior leader teams to make critical decisions that will determine the future of their organizations. Super Deciders book gives leaders a scientific approach to improving their decision-making capability by cultivating an experimentation-based, learning-oriented, and adaptive approach to decision-making. This book is a must-read for any leader who works in a fast-changing environment where their decisions impact their companies and society. After reading this book leaders will have the tools needed to enhance their decision-making and increase their ability to take well-founded, calculated risks.
-Lisa Danels, Executive Director of Human Edge Management and author of The Human Edge Advantage
Today's volatile and fast-changing markets and changing consumer needs make planning ahead challenging. Companies are required to use their collective intelligence to build flexible strategies and to learn and adapt as they progress. Super Deciders is an indispensable read for leaders that want to build flexible strategies and agile organizations.
-Michele Rodoni, Chief Executive Officer of Mobiliar
Super Deciders is a true gem for those who crave both knowledge and entertainment. This book seamlessly merges the thrill of a fiction novel with the depth of serious science, offering a refreshing and enlightening perspective on decision-making in our fast-paced, uncertain world.
-Peter Olson, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Random House
In Super Deciders the authors brilliantly explore the complex terrain of decision-making in uncertain times. Grounded in science and the principles of humility and self-awareness, the proposed framework for decision-making offers a practical approach to steer organizations in today's dynamic markets.
-Pierre Gurdjian, Chair of Board of Directors of Solvay
Super Deciders delivers profound and practical insights on understanding and resolving many dilemmas we face in today's world.
-Pietro Supino, Publisher & Chairman of TX Group
Super Deciders is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to improve their decision-making skills, especially in situations involving difficult, high-stakes outcomes where no obvious, right choice is immediately available or easy to see. Feser, Laureiro-Martinez, Frankenberger, and Brusoni introduce the highly-original Decision-Navigator model, which serves as a complement-not a substitute-to intuition and experience when making difficult decisions. The authors propose an experimentation-based approach that seeks to elicit relevant and helpful feedback to build intuition and to add to experience, thus aiding effective decision making. The model nudges decision makers into developing adaptive mindsets based on progressive and cumulative evidence-based learning, which is essential to effectively tackle tough decisions in complex and ambiguous environments, and to become "Super Deciders".
-Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, and co-editor of the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy
Making Super Decisions is about teams, about critical thinking, and about staying humble. But it also about going onto a journey of introspection and self-leadership.
-Roberto Paganoni, Managing Partner, Chief Executive Officer and co- founder of LGT Capital Partners
In Super Deciders, the authors deliver a compelling exploration of the science and practice of decision-making. They unveil the secrets of navigating through uncertainty by understanding the importance of building flexibility into each choice. This book is a compass for anyone on a journey of informed decision-making.
-Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, Chair of the Supervisory Board, Bosch
This book is about making the best decisions for yourself and your business. It contains no magic formulas, but rather insightful advice drawn from experience, research and psychology to find the best ingredients for effective decision-making. A useful and impactful read for all managers in these uncertain times.
-Thomas Buberl, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Group
Super Deciders describes a structured approach on how to make and implement difficult and complex decisions in a fact-based, agile, and adaptive way. The book provides the ultimate resource for steering organizations in volatile and uncertain markets in the perma-crisis age.
-Vassilios Psaltis, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Bank
The authors have masterfully distilled the essence of decision-making in a dynamic and uncertain world. Super Deciders is a must-read for anyone looking to enhance their ability to make informed choices, backed by rigorous research and practical advice.
-Winfried...
