Part of 66 day challenge

1.
Picture credit - ​LucidChart
Day 41 - Decision-Making Skill
20 May 2020
─
Prabodh Sirur
sirurp@gmail.com
1

2. 2
My learning for the day
Today I want to summarise two books on decision-making skills. Grateful to
Dean Yeong​ for his blog - ‘​The 10 Best Books for Better Decision Making​’
Book 1 - Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Author - ​Dan Ariely​, Behavioral Economist at Duke University
Summary (source - ​GoodReads​, ​FiveBooks​)
When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We
think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we?
Dan Ariely does not believe that we behave in rational ways.
Our expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly
illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities (that’s why the title of the book -
...​Irrational​) (When you give people more expensive things, even if they’re
the exact same thing, people actually get more pleasure out of the more
expensive product)
Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make
the same "types" of mistakes (that’s why the title of the book - ​Predictably​…)
We ​consistently​ overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate.
Some solutions -
● Clearly ​state goals​ and set deadlines before we even start the decision
making process
● Unless you ​practise meta-cognition​ (thinking about thinking), unless
you ​think​ about ​loss aversion​ when you’re evaluating your own stock
portfolio, or unless you ​worry about​ bias for more expensive things,
you’re going to make the same mistakes as everybody else.
2

3. 3
Book 2 -​ ​The Decision Book
Author - ​Mikael Krogerus​ and ​Roman Tschäppeler
Summary (source - ​Goodreads​)
Most of us face the same questions every day: What do I want? And how can I
get it?
The Decision Book describes the ​fifty best decision-making models​ (from
the well known ​Eisenhower matrix​ for time management to the less familiar
Swiss Cheese model​) that will help us tackle these important questions.
The 50 models are grouped in the following manner -
● How to improve yourself (13 models)
● How to understand yourself better (17 models)
● How to understand others better (15 models)
● How to improve others (5 models)
60% of the models help us look inward and the other 40% are about working
with others
What is decision making?
Decision-Making is the ability to use a decision making process/ technique to arrive
at a decision.
My learning so far on this topic
Day 1 post​ - How to Make Decisions
Day 11 post​ - Decision Tree Examples
Day 21 post​ - Edward De Bono’s Thinking tools - A.P.C. (Alternatives,
Possibilities, Choices) and CAF (Consider All Factors) and a few examples of
bad decision from history
Day 31 post​ - 3 ways to make better decisions — by thinking like a computer,
How to make hard choices (hard choices are precious opportunities)
3

4. 4
How to improve this skill?
Set a goal to ​become a go-to person​ by mastering the art and science of ​decision
making​.
Follow the ​LAST model​ to build your personal brand as a Guru of ​decision
making​.
Learn​ - Invest time in learning different frameworks/ models/ techniques of
decision making
Apply​ -
Identify a model suitable to you
Create a template to document the flow of the process
Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
Maintain record/ process flow of every important activities you did with
respect to ​decision making
Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used
for sharing/ training others
Share​ - Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social
media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
Train​ - Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over
time, your organization benefits from your efforts
Purpose of this document
I took a 66 day challenge​ to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my
astonishment, I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives of learning these skills were - To strengthen my mind to face life’s
challenges with ease, To use these skills in my worklife for a better performance, To
use these skills in my personal life for enriching my relationships, To open new
possibilities to surprise myself.
This is my next 66 day challenge​ (from 10 April 2020) - To share my Life Skills
learning with my social media friends.
4

5. 5
I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF​ defines Life skills as - ​psychosocial abilities​ for adaptive and positive
behaviour that enable individuals ​to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life​. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories
of skills
- cognitive skills​ for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills​ for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- inter-personal skills​ for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
Which LifeSkills are covered?
The ​World Health Organisation​ identified these basic areas of life skills that are
relevant across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated
academia to teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
5

6. 6
Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand - prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico - prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom - child abuse prevention
- USA - prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia - positive socialization of children.
6