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Summary: A useful guide for systematic decision-making
Review: This is an excellent book. The title may make this appear to be one of the too-numerous mass-market books which claim to offer advice on business and personal decision-making but actually offer lots of specific admonitions which are based on values which the reader may not share (example: anything by Steven Covey). This book, however, doesn't try to sell you any of the the authors' values; instead it teaches you an effective process that you can use to analyze any decision-making situation and make the choices which are most effective for achieving your objectives, whatever they may be. The book treats the subject in the same systematic way that it might be treated in an academic decision theory text, only it is written in plain language which can be read quickly and easily comprehended by the general reader. It finishes with a summary outline (they call it a "roadmap") which is a useful quick reference.
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Summary: Would you tell me please which way I ought to go from here?
Review: `Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' said Alice.`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. `I don't much care where--' said Alice. `Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Decision-making is the most fundamental life skill that unfortunately isn’t taught properly in schools, high schools or universities. The more we get familiar with art and science of decision-making and be skillful in using it, our move in the path towards success and progress will be more facilitated and secure and definitely our quality of life will improve. No doubt such knowledge has many uses. Perhaps we forget some stuff that we learn during schooling because they do not do anything for us and virtually have not any impact on our life. However, decision-making is useful not only in sensitive and fate making stages of our life but also in betterment of day-to-day activities and making smart choices. All of us have "got stuck" in a crossroad or many roads. In such circumstances we usually try to follow the best road through mimicking other people's decision-making method or simply asking for their help. In addition we are always told: “before making a decision you’d better think twice and consider all the possible aspects and weigh the pros and cons". But such advises are vague and motherhood and apple pie words. Nevertheless, living with uncertainty and the great demand for creativity and innovation are the features of today world. Therefore, any method or tool that can help us extend our thought horizons to face such complex conditions would be of great value. By using these tools we can figure out which things are important for us and by focusing on these values make our decisions with comfort. One of good points of focusing on values and not get limited to available alternatives is that we get rid of wrong and reactive attitudes and instead hunt for decision opportunities so we can proactively enhance our quality of life day by day. I as a person who recently translated Value-Focused Thinking by Ralph Keeney into Farsi found my autographed copy of Smart Choices very much appealing. Dr. Keeney and his colleagues have produced an outstanding user-friendly guide to help people enhance their knowledge of decision-making. This book is a must for everyone who feels “have gotten stuck†in many crossroads and do not well know how to think twice and consider all the possible aspects and weigh the pros and cons.
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