Quotes About Decision-making

Everything is very simple in War, but the simplest thing is difficult.

Theory must also take into account the human element; it must accord a place to courage, to boldness, even to rashness.

In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.

Dans les deux cas, l'empereur Napoléon attaqua avec son aile droite en cherchant à résister avec l'aile gauche. L'archiduc Charlesdfit exactement la même chose. Mais le premier le fit avec toute sa résolution et toute son énergie, tandis que le second était indécis et s'arrêtait chaque fois à mi-course.

No one starts a war—or rather, no one in his sense ought to do so—without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it.

When we seek a sure foundation on which to base decisions about our actions and thoughts, we find that a sure foundation does not exist. We do not even know whether we actually need such a foundation. We continue to make use of vague, uncertain ideas, precisely in those areas that most deeply concern us. What we call "irrational" is the code name for what we don't understand well about ourselves given the limits of our own intelligence.

The role of leadership is to transform the complex situation into small pieces and prioritize them.

You have to listen to the people who have a negative opinion as well as those who have positive opinion. Just to make sure that you are blending all these opinions in your mind before a decision is made.

You have to master not only the art of listening to your head, you must also master listening to your heart and listening to your gut.

Politics exist in the boardroom, as well.

Warren's actions on Little Round Top on July 2 demonstrated clearly how a senior leader in the heat of crisis should recognize a threat, assess its danger, form a workable plan, and follow it through to execution. A century later, his decision making on July 2 became a standard example of sound command initiative used in U.S. Army leadership manuals.

Herodotus, writing in the fifth century b.c., reported that the ancient Persians used a version of Sloan's techniques to prevent groupthink. Whenever a group reached a decision while sober, they later reconsidered it while intoxicated.

Create ways to foster alternative view and constructive criticism. Assign people to play the devils advocate, taking opposing viewpoints so you can see the holes in your position. Get people to wage debates that argue different sides of the issue. Have an anonymous suggestion box that employees must contribute to as part of the decision-making proces. Remember, people can be independent thinkers and team players at the same time, help them fill both roles.

Elige a alguien que ejerza el papel de abogado del diablo, que tome puntos de vista opuestos a los tuyos de modo que puedas ver los puntos débiles de tu decisión.

How do you get an honest man to lose his ethical compass? You get him to take one step at a time, and self-justification will do the rest.

The investigators asked them how certain they were that their horses would win. The bettors who had placed their bets were far more certain about their choice than the folks waiting in line.19 Yet nothing had changed except the finality of placing the bet. People become more certain they are right about something they just did if they can't undo it.

Therefore, when you are about to make a big purchase or an important decision—which car or computer to buy, whether to undergo plastic surgery, or whether to sign up for a costly self-help program—don't ask someone who has just done it. That person will be highly motivated to convince you that it is the right thing to do.

if you want advice on what product to buy, ask someone who is still gathering information and is still open-minded.

As a result of the ensuing debates with his advisers, all of whom had different ideas about how to keep both sides in line, Lincoln could not delude himself that he had group consensus on every decision. He was able to consider alternatives and eventually enlist the respect and support of his erstwhile competitors.

Once torture is justified in rare cases, it is easier to justify it in others: Let's torture not only this bastard we are sure knows where the bomb is, but this other bastard who might know where the bomb is, and also this bastard who might have some general information that could be useful in five years, and also this other guy who might be a bastard only we aren't sure.

It said if you were nervous about committing yourself to marriage and it was because you doubted yourself and whether you would make a good partner, then that was only natural and you should go ahead. It also said that if you doubted that the other person was right for you, then you should stop it.

A crying baby is the best form of birth control.

We weren't victims,' Madeleine Dissoubray would later say. 'It wasn't like the Jews or the gypsies. We saw the German posters, we read about the penalties, we heard about the torture. We knew what we were doing. It was our choice, and this gave us a strong emotional link.' (Moorehead, 2011, 161)

When you get the urge to do a cartwheel in the supermarket, say something inappropriate in a meeting or run a red light, this is the part of the brain that jumps in and reminds you not to be so stupid. It's a useful feature in all kinds of situations and saves us a lot of time and potential embarrassment, but the downside is that it does the same job for ideas, shutting down thoughts that are a bit out there but which might just work.