https://medium.com/@snehal.katare/book-summary-the-decision-book-fifty-models-for-strategic-thinking-ad866b60fa40 [ ] Snehal S Katare Snehal S Katare Follow May 17, 2019 * 8 min read Book Summary: The Decision Book: Fifty models for strategic thinking "Work will always be easy... it's working with people that will be difficult." A phrase I keep repeating to my subordinates and colleagues to emphasize that while they may be experts in their field, they may not succeed if they don't know how to work with people. And working with people may turn out to be a good or bad experience based on their interactions. There are plenty of situations at the workplace that are opportunities for relationships to become stronger or end up with differences. The outcome of these situations is primarily based on the decisions made, be it in a meeting, game, party, investment, dinner, resolutions or even voting for an option. Our decision-making skills are groomed over time mainly on our our desires and aspirations apart from our childhood, circle of influence, level of exposure, what we read and, the tough situations we face. So, say at the age of 50, when our life scripts govern the way we behave and respond to situations, can we improve our decision-making capability especially when it involves others? The answer lies in understanding how we make our decisions, how we can improve, how others make their decision and lastly how we can help them improve. My supervisor with 35 years of managerial experience once said to me that "The rightness of a decision will vary with time, what seems wrong today may in the future seem to have been the right decision. It all depends on our horizon." Understanding how decisions are made will help us expand our horizon and this book does that! The Decision Book, by Journalist Mikael Krogerus and communications expert Roman Tschappeler, is a great guide for those who are involved in dealing with people, or are in a decision making position, managers or aspiring entrepreneurs or frankly anyone who wants to learn how to improve their decision making capability. I call it a guide as it summarizes 52 models for decision making and strategic thinking which one can keep referring back to find which model suits best for a situation. The book provides readers frameworks on how to develop a strategy, how to choose among alternatives and how to make intelligent decisions. The most interesting aspect is a good percentage (nearly 60%) is on models that focus on the self. The book is structured to help navigate through the different models depending on what wants to achieve: How to improve yourself -- 13 models How to understand yourself better -- 17 models How to understand others better -- 15 models How to improve others -- 7 models Visually displaying the concepts through illustrations for each model, the book provides a synopsis of the different strategies that are widely accepted and implemented by individuals and businesses when making a decision. These models don't spoon feed a solution for any problem but instead provides a permanent framework with which one can view the problem from a different vantage point. A short summary of the models under from each category that I personally liked are mentioned below. How to improve yourself The Eisenhower Matrix: Time management is the first most important quality that helps differentiate an individual from the crowd. The authors refer to the former US president Dwight Eisenhower as a brilliant manager of time using a simple yet effective technique. Everyone has daily tasks and while simple prioritization may work for most, a more powerful way to manage time better is to classify the task according to "what is important and what is urgent." The model emphasizes that one should immediately do tasks that are both urgent & important. This may seem very obvious but what one tends to miss out is to schedule time in the future for tasks that are important but not urgent. Crazy as it may sound but, delegate the tasks that are urgent but not important. Tasks which are neither urgent & nor important can be managed at a later time or eliminated from the task list. Eisenhower Matrix Diagram The authors also touched upon the investment icon, Warren Buffett's simple way of task management. This involved listing down and ranking the tasks to be completed each day and then working on the #1 task until it is completed with a clear instruction not to proceed to the #2 task until the first one is completed. The Morphological Box and Scamper: This model (a combination of both) is useful for those who are into innovation. The model is used in marketing strategies and for development of new ideas. Swiss physicist Fritz Zwicky developed a problem-solving method which uses what he called morphological boxes, in which a new entity is developed by combining the attributes of a variety of existing entities. The SCAMPER checklist developed by Bob Eberle will help to reconfigure an existing idea or product by: * Substitute (the material, components etc.) * Combine (with other things) * Adapt (adapt other ideas, other objects, copy something else and add to it, something from the past) * Modify (or maximize, minimize the shape, size, texture etc.) * Put to other uses * Eliminate (reduce, simplify, get rid of the superfluous) * Reverse (or invert, reverse, rearrange) The Conflict Resolution Model When working with people, conflicts will arise and as a leader, it is paramount to avoid conflicts and if it does occur then resolve it. The objective of resolving conflicts elegantly is to prevent deadlock and restore communication. Conflict Resolution Model Six ways have been described with their consequences: 1. Escape or avoiding 2. Fight 3. Give up or retreat 4. Evade responsibility 5. Compromise 6. Consensus How to understand yourself better The Cognitive Dissonance Model The psychologist Leon Festinger used the term 'cognitive dissonance' to describe one's state of mind when their actions are not consistent with their belief and this is illustrated by a simple example of parents who might believe that physically punishing a child is wrong but they slap the child for misbehaving. To get over the guilt, parents get into the self-justification mode. This acts as a protective mechanism that enables them to sleep at night and free from self-doubt. Generally this goes unnoticed and eventually becomes part of ones habit and ultimately their character. This dissonance, as recommended by the authors, can be overcome by observing and changing ones behavior or attitude. The SUPERMEMO Model For those who want to overcome their forgetfulness, this model provides insights on the reason behind the issue. Long-term memory has two components: retrievability and stability. Where retrievability is how easy something is to remember and stability is how well-anchored something is in one's brain. A phone number from years ago is a stable memory that is not easily retrievable. SUPERMEMO Model To remember something like a new word or language one needs to remind themselves of it on a regular. Reminding the new word at regular intervals -- one, ten, thirty and sixty days helps remember it for a longer period of time. How to understand others better I must confess that while there are 15 models under this category the one that interested me is the Black Swan model. The Black Swan Model Writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines the black swan concept as our inability to predict the future from the past. The name of the concept evolves from the past when the Western world always assumed that all swans were white -- until naturalists in the seventeenth century discovered a breed of black swans. What Nassim was referencing to was to expect the unexpected, and never assume that the past provides a model for the future. The authors make a categorical mention that this is not really a model but a rejection of the cause-and-effect principle. And it reminds us that we tend to cling most tightly to pillars that we see toppling. How to improve others The Gap-In-The-Market Model This model is excellent for those businesses who want to launch a new product or service in the market. It provides a way to visualize the competitive landscape within the segment and help determine what differentiates the idea from other existing products. The visualization part involves an exercise of depicting the landscape in three dimensions where the three axes measure the development of the market, targeted customers and future products. In this graph, all the competitor products are positioned. The model suggests that in areas that are dense with competitors, one should enter the market with the business model only if it has the potential to be a 'category killer'. The authors caution that if an area is completely empty, one should check whether there is a demand there at all. While this concept described focuses on a product or service, the same principle could be used to identify areas of improvement in individuals and teams. The Hersey-Blanchard Model Team leaders should especially look at this model which deliberates over the situational leadership. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed this model that correlates the style of leadership with the team's level of expertise and commitment. * Instructing: new employees require strong leadership; commitment level is high but expertise is still low therefore they are given orders and instructions * Coaching: over time the employees gain some expertise but are less motivated than when they started the job, here they are asked questions and seek answers themselves * Supporting: employees have gained significant knowledge; the motivation level varies and is the turning point where they resign (because of low motivation) or take on responsibilities to become independent (because they are highly motivated) * Delegating: employees are fully in control of their work with a high level of motivation and lead their own team. A statement well quoted by the authors: Lead your employees in such a way that you yourself become superfluous. And lead your employees to be successful, so that one day they will be in a leadership position themselves. Drawing Lessons Models are visual in nature, which means that you need to have at least elementary drawing skills to make an illustration or diagram with clarity. The uniqueness of this book is that it has a few pages dedicated to drawing lessons where the authors provide some basic understanding of why and how one should draw their models. Final Note While this summary covers only a few models that I could relate to, there are many more which will be of interest and relate to your situation(s). Having said that, this is book provides a short overview of every model and will require that you refer to the original author's work to get more insights. Decision making is an evolving science and if strategic thinking is not something that you have pondered over and are at the cusp of making a key decision but don't know how to, then this book will provide at least one appropriate model that will allow you to effectively evaluate your situation and come to the best possible solution. As the authors have rightly put it "Think of models as tools." Productivity Decision Making Team Management Self Improvement No rights reserved by the author. -- -- More from Snehal S Katare Follow Recommended from Medium Bagasteguhimani Bagasteguhimani Tips to Set Accurate Deadline. [1] Jack Modz Jack Modz The 3 Best Apps To Boost Productivity [1] Mudit Jha Mudit Jha See The Invisible: Laser-Focused Visions! [0] Yoanka Soler Yoanka Soler in The Daily Writing Habit Day 11: What I Did To Stop Myself From Procrastinating. 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