It is not very uncommon a practice that I bump into a lot of good books in a while or, at least, a good book alone. I was busy with my fiction tasks and all of a sudden, I get my hands on this book by Patrik Edbald – The Decision-Making Blueprint: A Simple Guide to Better Choices in Life and Work. Well, we all know that any book can only inspire us to do our jobs better but cannot, unfortunately, do all those for us. However, at least, we can acknowledge the part that a really good book plays in providing that inspiration to us. Patrik Edbald’s book is certainly there – inspiring and really simple enough for the readers to understand his point of views.
What will you find in the book?
You will find that the author has divided his book into five parts, including the introduction that’s very effective. Four other parts are – Cognitive Biases, Logical Fallacies, Mental Models and Final Words. Chapters in each of these sections are shorter, aptly drawn and effectively communicated. As a reader, you will feel satisfied with the content that you read. The concepts are ideally explained (plainly as well) and apt examples, illustrations and citations can be found (citations are at the end of the book).
So, what’s really in the book?
Patrik Edbald has tried to introduce the readers to the process of better thinking and better decision making, largely. He has tried to present simple arguments in favour of effective decision making that is independent, unaffected and unbiased. However, the author agrees that being unbiased is not necessary and it’s almost impossible.
“Unfortunately, it’s much harder to spot biases in ourselves than in others.”
The book is effective in conveying the messages that it intends to do. The Cognitive Bias section of the book wonderfully explains to the readers the impediments that are cognitive and impeds us from better decision making. Status Quo, Authoritative Bias, Hyperbolic Discounting, Anchoring Bias… Likewise, the third section explains to the readers various logical fallacies. Mental Models, the fourth section, introduces the readers to various models of decision making propagated by thinkers of the past – Bayesian Thinking, Occam’s Razor, and Hanlon’s Razor are some of them. The Final Words section is really final and it ends the book with citations added.
Is the book effective?
Yes, the book is effective if you read it seriously. It won’t take much time in reading this book as well. The author has made it interesting enough for his readers. It has given out simple messages that can help the readers understands where one needs to consider improving in terms of better decision-making practices. The book is somehow a good and simple guide to better choices in life… you can get your copies from Amazon and enjoy the book. The author has also offered certain freebies at the end of the book that you can download. Link:
Review by Aditya Shankar for Egoistic Readers
The Decision-Making Blueprint
65 RS
Pros
- Easy to read
- Simple to understand
- Friendly Narrative
Cons
- Lacks Contemporary Models
