Better Decisions Together

Making decisions is something we do all the time. We decide what we’re going to wear for the day, what we’re going to eat and make so many other large and small decisions from moment to moment. Decision-making is how we survive, but just because we do already do it doesn’t necessarily mean we have the skills or fortitude to Make Better Decisions. Sound decisions that are aligned with our values, hopes, dreams, and aspirations require more than a rote response. What we fail to understand are the fundamentals of making the right decision for ourselves, and in some cases, those who depend on us for some of life’s most important decisions. Make Better Decisions provides a road map to shoring up our decision-making skills and helping us to follow a path that aligns with where we want to go. Without these crucial skills, we can inadvertently sabotage our efforts and create roadblocks to our success. Here is a sampling of what you’ll find in this book: · How to unlearn bad decision-making skills · Why it’s important to not make rash decisions · Creating realistic deadlines for yourself · How to create and weigh better options · When to see help from an outside source · How to put what you’ve learned into practice If you’re ready to take your decision-making skills to the next level, read Make Better Decisions today!

Our decisions shape our lives. Whether at home or at work, with others or alone, our capacity to read what’s going on inside and around us, and to choose what to do next can make or break a campaign, a business, a relationship or even a family holiday. With so much going on above and below the surface, how can we decide what to say and how to act in order to steer things in the right direction? Through 20 accessible lessons, Better Decisions will take you from theory and frameworks which deepen your understanding, to real-life applications that are specific to you. The practical exercises will help you to understand your own decision-making habits, and give you new tools and techniques to enable you to judge the best way forward and take the next step.

We've all been there, sittinguncomfortably in a paper gownas a doctor impassively describesour prognosis. Sometimes it's simple andtreatable. Other times we get news wecan't fathom and then are faced withdecisions that are literally life and death. In this revolutionary book, physician,behavioral scientist, and bioethicist PeterUbel, M.D., reveals how hidden dynamicsin the doctor/patient relationship keepus and our loved ones from making thebest medical choices. From doctors whostruggle to explain, to patients who failto properly listen, countless factors alterthe course of our care, causing things togo seriously awry. With riveting stories of Ubel's own experiencein the field, his groundbreakingresearch, and his personal journey walkingloved ones through difficult treatmentchoices, Critical Decisions will foreverchange the way we communicate insidehospitals and medical offices, wherethoughtful decision making matters themost. Dr. Ubel has been on both endsof the stethoscope, and in this book,he shows how patients and doctorscan learn to become partners and worktogether to make the right choices. Fromchoosing to get surgery, to discussingthe side effects of a blood pressure medication,we can finally discover the toolsto improve communication, understandthe issues, and make confident decisionsfor our future health and happiness.

Decision management is emerging as an important capability for delivering agile business solutions. Decision management is not a solution in its own right, but must be integrated into the solutions or business processes that it supports. In this IBM® RedpapersTM publication, we describe the recommended best practices and integration concepts that use the business events, business rules, and other capabilities of IBM WebSphere® Operational Decision Management V7.5 (WebSphere ODM) to provide better decision making in those solutions and business processes.

This “charming and addictively accessible introduction to neuroscience” (Steven Pinker) takes us on a highly entertaining tour through the wonders and mysteries of the human brain—from a renowned husband-and-wife team of cognitive neuroscientists. Professors and husband-and-wife team Uta and Chris Frith have pioneered major studies of brain disorders throughout their nearly fifty-year career. Here, in this “pleasing mix of wonder, genial humor, and humility” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), they tell the compelling story of the birth of neuroscience and their paradigm-shifting discoveries across areas as wide-ranging as autism and schizophrenia research, and new frontiers of social cognition including diversity, prejudice, confidence, collaboration, and empathy. Working with their son Alex Frith and artist Daniel Locke, the Friths delve into a wide range of complex concepts and explain them with humor and clarity. You’ll learn what it means to be a “social species,” explore what happens when we gather in groups, and discover how people behave in pairs—when we’re pitted against each other, versus when we work together. Is it better to surround yourself with people who are similar to yourself, or different? And, are two heads really better than one? Highly original and ingeniously illustrated, Two Heads is a “magical book...[and] a fantastically fun way to learn about the brain, the mind, and the lives of two of the world’s most brilliant scientists” (Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, author of Inventing Ourselves).

The four principles that can help us to overcome our brains' natural biases to make better, more informed decisions--in our lives, careers, families and organizations. In Decisive, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, the bestselling authors of Made to Stick and Switch, tackle the thorny problem of how to overcome our natural biases and irrational thinking to make better decisions, about our work, lives, companies and careers. When it comes to decision making, our brains are flawed instruments. But given that we are biologically hard-wired to act foolishly and behave irrationally at times, how can we do better? A number of recent bestsellers have identified how irrational our decision making can be. But being aware of a bias doesn't correct it, just as knowing that you are nearsighted doesn't help you to see better. In Decisive, the Heath brothers, drawing on extensive studies, stories and research, offer specific, practical tools that can help us to think more clearly about our options, and get out of our heads, to improve our decision making, at work and at home.