How to Decide - by Annie Duke (Paperback)

About the Book

"Through a blend of compelling exercises, illustrations, and stories, the bestselling author of Thinking in Bets will train you to combat your own biases, address your weaknesses, and help you become a better and more confident decision-maker"--

Book Synopsis

Through a blend of compelling exercises, illustrations, and stories, the bestselling author of Thinking in Bets will train you to combat your own biases, address your weaknesses, and help you become a better and more confident decision-maker.

What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? If you're like most people, you probably make a pro and con list, spend a lot of time obsessing about decisions that didn't work out, get caught in analysis paralysis, endlessly seek other people's opinions to find just that little bit of extra information that might make you sure, and finally go with your gut.

What if there was a better way to make quality decisions so you can think clearly, feel more confident, second-guess yourself less, and ultimately be more decisive and be more productive?

Making good decisions doesn't have to be a series of endless guesswork. Rather, it's a teachable skill that anyone can sharpen. In How to Decide, bestselling author Annie Duke and former professional poker player lays out a series of tools anyone can use to make better decisions. You'll learn:

- To identify and dismantle hidden biases.
- To extract the highest quality feedback from those whose advice you seek.
- To more accurately identify the influence of luck in the outcome of your decisions.
- When to decide fast, when to decide slow, and when to decide in advance.
- To make decisions that more effectively help you to realize your goals and live your values.

Through interactive exercises and engaging thought experiments, this book helps you analyze key decisions you've made in the past and troubleshoot those you're making in the future. Whether you're picking investments, evaluating a job offer, or trying to figure out your romantic life, How to Decide is the key to happier outcomes and fewer regrets.

Review Quotes

"'The decisions you make are like a portfolio of investments.' I believe that almost everything can be viewed as a portfolio -- whether it's a set of products a single company decides to make, the schools and jobs and skills an individual invests in, and all kinds of life decisions. The question is, how do we make sure that portfolio as a whole advances you toward your goals -- even though any individual decision within it is a win or loss? In this new book, Annie provides exercises for how to decide. All of us -- not just investors -- should be obsessed with making better decisions."
--Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz

"How to Decide is a delightful, practical guide to making better decisions in a complex world. Annie Duke explains exactly how to cut through the biases that prevent most of us from making wise choices and offers readers a toolkit for learning from the past and tackling the future in an uncertain world. I look forward to assigning this book to my Wharton students for many years to come."
--Katy Milkman, Professor at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania and host of the Choiceology podcast

"What a phenomenal achievement! Written with zest, flair, and compassion, it's a ton of fun, and it's also packed with original ideas."
--Cass R. Sunstein, author of How Change Happens

"Annie Duke gives you the tools you need and tells you how to use them effectively. Smart and practical, How to Decide is the best user's guide to decision-making that you'll find."
--Michael J. Mauboussin, author of The Success Equation

"This is a vitally important book. Simple, powerful and generous, it should be required reading."
--Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing

"No one could explain the process of high-stakes decision-making better than Annie Duke, or make it as entertaining and insightful as How to Decide. The first decision you should make is to read this book immediately!"
--Garry Kasparov, chess grandmaster and author of Winter is Coming

"How to Decide is the perfect guide to decision making that you didn't even know you needed. Clear, engaging, and thought-provoking, it forces even those of us to re-examine our thought processes and question the innermost workings of our minds."
--Maria Konnikova, author of The Biggest Bluff

"Many books teach us why we make bad choices. Few help us make better ones. At long last, Annie Duke has tackled that problem. Her handbook for decision-making isn't just evidence-based and practical--it's fun too."
--Adam Grant, bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

"You can't learn how to ride a bicycle by reading physics textbooks. You need to get on the bike and practice. And you can't become a better decisionmaker by reading micro-economics textbooks. You need to practice by working through the real-world exercises in this state-of-the-art book."
--Philip Tetlock, author of Superforecasting

About the Author

Annie Duke is a bestselling author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space. Her books Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts and Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away are both national bestsellers. As a former professional poker player, Annie won more than $4 million in tournament poker before retiring from the game in 2012. Prior to becoming a professional player, Annie was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, completing her PhD in 2023. She is the co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education.