Recognize that decision-making is a two-step process: First take in all the relevant information, then decide.
Don’t worry about looking good; worry about achieving your goal.
Realize that you can’t put out without taking in.
Recognize that to gain the perspective that comes from seeing things through another’s eyes, you must suspend judgment for a time, only by empathizing can you properly evaluate another point of view.
Remember that you’re looking for the best answer, not simply the best answer that you can come up with yourself.
Be clear on whether you are arguing or seeking to understand, and think about which is most appropriate based on your and others’ believability.
Appreciate the art of thoughtful disagreement.
Triangulate your view with believable people who are willing to disagree.
Plan for the worst-case scenario to make it as good as possible.
Recognize the signs of closed-mindedness and open-mindedness that you should watch out for.
Understand how you can become radically open-minded.
Regularly use pain as your guide toward quality reflection.
Make being open-minded a habit.
Get to know your blind spots.
If a number of different believable people say you are doing something wrong and you are the only one who doesn’t see it that way, assume that you are probably biased.
Meditate.
Be evidence-based and encourage others to be the same.
Do everything in your power to help others also be open-minded.
Use evidence-based decision-making tools.
Know when it’s best to stop fighting and have faith in your decision-making process.
Understand That People Are Wired Very Differently
Understand the power that comes from knowing how you and others are wired.
We are born with attributes that can both help us and hurt us, depending on their application.
Meaningful work and meaningful relationships aren’t just nice things we chose for ourselves, they are genetically programmed into us.
Understand the great brain battles and how to control them to get what “you” want.
Realize that the conscious mind is in a battle with the subconscious mind.
Know that the most constant struggle is between feeling and thinking.
Reconcile your feelings and your thinking.
Choose your habits well.
Train your “lower-level you” with kindness and persistence to build the right habits.
Understand the differences between right-brained and left-brained thinking.
Understand how much the brain can and cannot change.
Workplace Personality Inventory.
Shapers are people who can go from visualization to actualization.
Getting the right people in the right roles in support of your goal is the key to succeeding at whatever you choose to accomplish.
Manage yourself and orchestrate others to get what you want.
Learn How to Make Decisions Effectively
Recognize that the biggest threat to good decision-making is harmful emotions, and decision-making is a two-step process (first learning and then deciding).
Synthesize the situation at hand.
One of the most important decisions you can make is who you ask questions of.
Don’t believe everything you hear.
Everything looks bigger up close.
New is overvalued relative to great.
Don’t oversqueeze dots.
Synthesize the situation through time.
Keep in mind both the rates of change and the levels of things, and the relationships between them.
Be imprecise.
Remember the 80/20 Rule and know what the key 20 percent is.
Be an imperfectionist.
Navigate levels effectively.
Use the terms “above the line” and “below the line” to establish which level a conversation is on.
Remember that decisions need to be made at the appropriate level, but they should also be consistent across levels.
Logic, reason, and common sense are your best tools for synthesizing reality and understanding what to do about it.
Make your decisions as expected value calculations.
Raising the probability of being right is valuable no matter what your probability of being right already is.
Knowing when not to bet is as important as knowing what bets are probably worth making.
The best choices are the ones that have more pros than cons, not those that don’t have any cons at all.
Prioritize by weighing the value of additional information against the cost of not deciding.
All of your “must-dos” must be above the bar before you do your “like-to-dos.”