Harvard Business Review on
Decision Making
Theory And Practice - Advice From The Leading Minds.
The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series is designed to bring
todays managers and professionals the fundamental information they
need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the preeminent
thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will
redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and
landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as
required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the
globe. Harvard Business Review on Decision Making will help people at
all levels understand the fundamental theories and practices of effective
decision making so that they can make better decisions in their personal
and professional lives.
Personal Review: Harvard Business Review on Decision Making
Much of the contextual material in this volume is out-of-date, given the fact
that the eight articles originally appeared in the Harvard Business Review

years ago (1965-2001). However, I think the core concepts remain sound
and provide a valuable frame-of-reference for understanding the advances
in decision making that have occurred during the last five years. For
example, Peter Drucker suggests a sequence of six steps: classify the
problem, define it, identify possible answers, determine which is "right"
rather than acceptable, build into the decision the action(s) necessary to
implement it, and then test the decision's validity and effectiveness. Yes,
these are obvious steps. However, but the number of well-publicized bad
decisions that have been made in recent years (e.g. Adelphia
Communications, Arthur Andersen, Enron, Kmart, and Tyco) suggests the
implications and consequences when decision-makers ignore one or more
of these steps.
No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and
substance of the eight articles. It remains for each reader to examine the
list to identify which subjects are of greatest interest to her or him. My own
opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. One of this volume's greatest
benefits is derived from the fact that a variety of perspectives are provided
by a number of different authorities on the same general subject. In this
instance, "advances [to date] in strategy"
Readers will especially appreciate the provision of an executive summary
that precedes each article. They facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review
of key points which - presumably - careful readers either underline or
highlight. Also of interest is the "About the Contributors" section that
includes suggestions of other sources to consult. Here are questions that
suggest key issues to which the authors of these articles respond:
How to make and then measure an "effective" decision? (Peter Drucker)
Comment: Effective executives do not make a great many decisions. They
concentrate on what is most important.
What is a rational method for making trade-offs? (John S. Hammond,
Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa)
Comment: Making wise trade-offs is one of the most important and difficult
challenges in decision making. Needless to say, the more alternatives you
are considering and the more objectives you're pursuing, the more trade-
offs you'll need to make.
Why is humility essential to effective decision-making? (Amitai Etzioni)
Comment: Only fools make rigid decisions and decisions with no sense of
overarching purpose, whereas the most able executives practice more
humble decision making that offers the benefits of flexibility, caution, and
the capacity to proceed with partial knowledge.
What are the most common interpersonal barriers to decision making and
how to overcome them? (Chris Argyris)

Comment: One of the most common observations in company studies is
that executives lack awareness of their own behavioral patterns as well as
the negative impact of their behavior on others.
How to analyze the nature and extent of the given problem? (Perrin
Stryker)
Comment: Even veteran managers are likely to be very unsystematic when
dealing with problems and decisions, and their hit-or-miss methods often
produce bad decisions based on erroneous conclusions.
What are the hidden traps in decision making? (John S. Hammond, Ralph
L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa)
Comment: Bad decisions can often be traced back to the way the
decisions were made - the alternatives that were not clearly defined, the
right information was not collected, and the costs and benefits were not
accurately weighed.
When to "trust your gut"? (Alden M. Hayshi)
Comment: Our emotions and feelings might not only be important in our
intuitive ability to make good decisions but may actually be essential
because they can help us to filter various options quickly.
Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out
the recently published Harvard Business Review on Making Smarter
Decisions as well as other titles in the Harvard Business Review
Paperback Series such as those on Becoming a High-Performance
Manager, Change, Corporate Strategy, Decision Making, Effective
Communication, the Innovative Enterprise, Leadership, Leadership at the
Top, and Measuring Corporate Performance.
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