March 2007

A fun aspect of blogging for me is that occasionally authors send me copies of their books because they like a post of mine on the topic of their book. Recently, I’ve enjoyed reading and recommend Ross Dawson’s Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships (Second Edition) and Rajesh Setty’s Beyond Code which the authors sent to me.
The book that I want highlight and recommend to you is David Ullman’s Making Robust Decisions. I’ve done some research into decision-making over the years. I’ve even had some general discussions about the potential for decision-making software in the legal context.
Making Robust Decisions takes a deep dive into decision-making, especially for teams, and is one of those rare books that I immediately put on my “to re-read” list.
Highlights:
1. As thorough an analysis of the science of decision-making as I’ve seen in a popular text. There’s even mathematics. Fascinating stuff.
2. Thoughtful discussion of the human dynamics at play in group decision-making.
3. Excellent description and analysis of a variety of tools and techniques, with templates and practical illustrations.
4. Most important, a focus on how to turn process into ACTION. Very worthwhile. I seem to be making a lot of tough decisions lately and this book has been very valuable. This emphasis on action will change the way you look at decision-making.
There’s also a lot of coverage of topics that have captured my attention over the past few years, including John Boyd’s OODA Loop and a good critique of the over-worked notion of consensus decision-making, quoting Margaret Thatcher, “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.”
Ullman’s combination of “robustness” in decision-making and practical action is a powerful approach.
Highly recommended and a big public thank you to David Ullman for sending me a copy and realizing that it would fit so well with my thinking and perspective.
Making Robust Decisions
[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (https://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]
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