Ever since I read Sidney Parnes' The Magic of Your Mind more than twenty years ago, I have firmly believed that having more options is preferable to having fewer options. On the other hand, just about every time I go to the grocery store, I wish there were fewer choices. So I am conflicted: my … [Read more...]
Channel Your Inner Crayfish Brain
06/28/2010 By
When making decisions, do you struggle with cost-benefit anaylses? Well, here is motivation for you to improve that skill: According to ScienceDaily, "Crayfish make surprisingly complex, cost-benefit calculations." The findings are from a University of Maryland study. A crayfish has two defense … [Read more...]
98% Of All Statistics Are False
06/23/2010 By
- By Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Tait, Decision Mechanics Limited Science News recently published a great article on the use and abuse of statistics. Odds Are, It's Wrong, by Tom Siegfried, highlights some of the problems associated with testing hypotheses using statistical methods. These … [Read more...]
Errors are Portals of Discovery
05/16/2010 By
Errors are...the portals of discovery. James Joyce, Ulysses Fear to make a mistake, to fail, or to take a risk is perhaps the most general and common emotional block in problem solving. James L. Adams, Conceptual Blockbusting _________ Years ago, my five-year-old son was assigned to paint … [Read more...]
Ben Franklin’s Tradeoff Tool
04/19/2010 By
Let's face it. When faced with an important decision, we are often prone to procrastination. Indeed, the more consequential the decision, the more time we may spend avoiding it. We let inertia reign, maybe even succumb to status quo bias. Our procrastination has multiple causes—some psychological … [Read more...]
The Rashomon Effect
04/12/2010 By
Here's a typical pattern in collaborative decision-making. A team meets, works through a series of issues and reaches agreement on a course of action. They leave the meeting confident that there is consensus and alignment. They begin to act on the details of their agreement. In the days and weeks … [Read more...]
