Read ´ PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Æ Harvey Kaye
This is an example of book that should *not* be judged by its cover. It's the sort of book I would not have picked up in a bookshop - it looks cheap, dated and the subtitle makes it sound potentially like a happy-clappy self-help book.
Decision Power was referenced in another book I was reading (I don't remember which one) and I guessed I must have been intrigued enough by the reference to order the book. The author addresses a number of issues that standard business decision-making books tend to skirt around. One is that decisions involve people and all the baggage and emotional complications that the involvement entails.
This book defines problem solving as something that can exist in the abstract form, separate from the person performing the activity. So while some decisions fall within the problem solving category, i.e. it is a case of solving for optimum within given parameters therefore one can devise a system/process to solve for it. And in the main, these are relatively easy to implement (there may still be contention about the definitions of the inputs, the criteria and the priorities).
However, non-problem solving decisions are made trickier when one blindly follows these decision-making tools and systems without fully considering one's own angst, values, insecurities etc. as well as taking into account the ego, insecurities, values etc. of the other parties involved in the decision. (Non-problem solving decisions include things where preferences are subjective, there are many uncertainties and unknowns and there's a great weight on an individual's values and definitions of success - for instance should I be a management consultant or run a tech start-up?).
An example extract from the book:
If you can't say, *in detail*, who you are and what you value, you'll have difficulty assessing situations and opportunities to see if they can meet your needs. Further, since most situations also involve meeting the needs and requirements of others, you may also lack the ability to know to what degree you should adapt to their needs without compromising your own. The meshing of needs is never a black-and-white issue, It's not a matter of finding a situation that perfectly matches the needs of A,B,C with corresponding needs A,B,C from others. The issue is gray instead: Can you find a good enough match of your needs A,B.C with the corresponding needs X,Y,Z of others. A person with a weak ego sees the many shades of gray, but then distills them into a single black and white question Am I being accepted or rejected? The poorly developed psychological defenses do a great job of protecting against the pain of rejection, but do not, at the same time, allow sufficient information by which to make useful judgments.
Now, the above paragraph may seem terribly obvious to you. But there are many situations that fall apart because the decision-makers are looking for the single perfect solution, or worse believe that they have this solution, and enter into a battle of egos with others to argue why their decision/solution is the correct one. And they take failure to achieve the winning argument as a significant indication that they are weak, inferior and worthless and so they will irrationally defend their position even to their own overall detriment.
I recommend this book as a supplement to the standard decision-making texts out there. It feels like a half-way house between a self-help book and something that will help improve decision-making in a business/work context. Harvey Kaye
Aims to offer practical guidance to develop the reader's decision-making potential. By presenting decision-making skills that are useful in both personal and professional life, this guide helps readers to define a problem in a productive way, and to visualize new goals. Decision Power: How to Make Successful Decisions with Confidence
