DESCRIPTION
The phrase "work smarter, not harder" has been repeatedly ridiculed in the Dilbert comic strip and elsewhere, not because it is a bad idea, but because it is thrown like a brick lifesaver to drowning employees. To tell someone to work smarter is like telling someone to be happier, healthier, and richer. It's not much help to merely repeat the objective; what people need is a plan for achieving the objective. In Making Great Decisions, we show our readers how to achieve their objectives. We write to help those in business and those in the business of life--i.e., everyone--to work smarter. Our ideas are both simple and powerful. We offer a better way to look at problems so that the solutions are easier to find. We help supplement our readers' clear thinking by summarizing some of the most powerful techniques we have discovered.
REVIEWS
This brilliantly written book is a stimulating, fun read filled with great stories and examples. It has practical applications for business people, and yet is written for everyone. If my predecessors at the companies I turned around had read and understood this book, their companies wouldn t have needed me. I wish I had had this book when I taught decision analysis at Harvard. It would make a great supplementary text for virtually any course I teach. It is, simply, a great book.
--John. O. Whitney, Columbia Business School
Ignoring search costs is one of several obstacles to wisdom encountered in this lively work by an academic economist (Mr. Henderson) and a marketing consultant (Mr. Hooper). To get to "great decisions," they draw on economic concepts, on the discipline called "decision analysis" -- which is mainly about making choices in the absence of good information and in the presence of risk -- and on common sense.
-- Dan Seligman, The Wall Street Journal
Making Great Decisions flows like butter. It teaches you how to think like an economist. The results may surprise or even jolt you, as you discover all the mistakes you've been making and how to correct them.
--Barry Nalebuff, Yale School of Management
This engagingly written book does get you to think, and think more carefully, about the practical decisions in life.
-- Virginia Postrel, columnist, New York Times
This is a book that is the best of both worlds; it's full of practical advice and it's interesting. Honestly, I carried this book around with me and read it at every spare moment.
--Jack Covert, 800-CEO-READ
If you think economics is only for bookworms and whiz kids, think again. As Henderson and Hooper show, with story after colorful story, economic reasoning can help you understand everyday life - and improve the quality of your own life as well.
-- James C. Miller III, Chairman, CapAnalysis Group and former Director, Office of Management and Budget
David Henderson and Charley Hooper help the reader understand the power of decision analysis techniques through the use of practical examples—translating theory into practices we can employ in our daily lives. Unlike many business books that state a single concept and beat it to death, Making Great Decisions builds one useful tool on top of another. The result: a uniquely entertaining and informative experience for the reader.
-- Gayle Mills
Vice President, Business Development
Abgenix, Inc.
I cannot think of a better book to bring home the message I think is crucial for MBA students to understand--that the insights of economics can improve their business skills and make them more effective in all walks of their lives. But you don't need to be an MBA student to benefit from this book, just someone who enjoys a well-written and interesting book and wants to make better decisions.
-- Dwight R. Lee
Coauthor of:
Getting Rich in America: Eight Simple Rules for Building a Fortune--And a Satisfying Life
Managing Through Incentives
Microeconomics for MBAs: The Economic Way of Thinking for Manager
The phrase "work smarter, not harder" has been repeatedly ridiculed in the Dilbert comic strip and elsewhere, not because it is a bad idea, but because it is thrown like a brick lifesaver to drowning employees. To tell someone to work smarter is like telling someone to be happier, healthier, and richer. It's not much help to merely repeat the objective; what people need is a plan for achieving the objective. In Making Great Decisions, we show our readers how to achieve their objectives. We write to help those in business and those in the business of life--i.e., everyone--to work smarter. Our ideas are both simple and powerful. We offer a better way to look at problems so that the solutions are easier to find. We help supplement our readers' clear thinking by summarizing some of the most powerful techniques we have discovered.
REVIEWS
This brilliantly written book is a stimulating, fun read filled with great stories and examples. It has practical applications for business people, and yet is written for everyone. If my predecessors at the companies I turned around had read and understood this book, their companies wouldn t have needed me. I wish I had had this book when I taught decision analysis at Harvard. It would make a great supplementary text for virtually any course I teach. It is, simply, a great book.
--John. O. Whitney, Columbia Business School
Ignoring search costs is one of several obstacles to wisdom encountered in this lively work by an academic economist (Mr. Henderson) and a marketing consultant (Mr. Hooper). To get to "great decisions," they draw on economic concepts, on the discipline called "decision analysis" -- which is mainly about making choices in the absence of good information and in the presence of risk -- and on common sense.
-- Dan Seligman, The Wall Street Journal
Making Great Decisions flows like butter. It teaches you how to think like an economist. The results may surprise or even jolt you, as you discover all the mistakes you've been making and how to correct them.
--Barry Nalebuff, Yale School of Management
This engagingly written book does get you to think, and think more carefully, about the practical decisions in life.
-- Virginia Postrel, columnist, New York Times
This is a book that is the best of both worlds; it's full of practical advice and it's interesting. Honestly, I carried this book around with me and read it at every spare moment.
--Jack Covert, 800-CEO-READ
If you think economics is only for bookworms and whiz kids, think again. As Henderson and Hooper show, with story after colorful story, economic reasoning can help you understand everyday life - and improve the quality of your own life as well.
-- James C. Miller III, Chairman, CapAnalysis Group and former Director, Office of Management and Budget
David Henderson and Charley Hooper help the reader understand the power of decision analysis techniques through the use of practical examples—translating theory into practices we can employ in our daily lives. Unlike many business books that state a single concept and beat it to death, Making Great Decisions builds one useful tool on top of another. The result: a uniquely entertaining and informative experience for the reader.
-- Gayle Mills
Vice President, Business Development
Abgenix, Inc.
I cannot think of a better book to bring home the message I think is crucial for MBA students to understand--that the insights of economics can improve their business skills and make them more effective in all walks of their lives. But you don't need to be an MBA student to benefit from this book, just someone who enjoys a well-written and interesting book and wants to make better decisions.
-- Dwight R. Lee
Coauthor of:
Getting Rich in America: Eight Simple Rules for Building a Fortune--And a Satisfying Life
Managing Through Incentives
Microeconomics for MBAs: The Economic Way of Thinking for Manager
