The Confident Decision Maker: How to Make the Right Business and Personal Decisions Every Time [Hardcover]

Roger Dawson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1993

Dawson has helped hundreds of thousands of people negotiate the best deal with his Secrets of Power Negotiating tape series. Now, after talking to hundreds of top executives about successful and not-so-successful decisions they've made, he reveals the art and science of making excellent decisions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Successful decision-making is not a talent but a "learned skill" composed of "concentrated thought" and "rapid reasoning powers," claims business consultant Dawson, author of the audiotape series Secrets of Power Negotiating. His predictable formula for reaching the best decisions and solutions combines analysis, synthesis and judgment and requires developing a sense of timing and ability to handle uncertainty and elements of risk. Using charts, self-evaluation tests and examples of both good and bad decisions, Dawson emphasizes setting goals and priorities, assembling essential data and evaluating alternate solutions--all of which are summarized in a 21-day-plan.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688115640
• ISBN-13: 978-0688115647
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,100,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roger Dawson (La Habra Heights, CA) is one of the country's top experts on the art of negotiating. As a full-time speaker since 1982, he has trained executives, managers, and salespeople throughout the U.S., Canada, Asia and Australia. He is one of only a few professionals in the world to have been awarded both the CSP and CPAE by the National Speakers Association, their two highest awards. He was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame in 1991. He is the author of Secrets of Power Negotiating, Secrets of Power Negotiating for Salespeople and Secrets of Power Persuasion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking before acting, October 2, 2004

By 

H. Arsham "Dr. Professor Hossein Arsham" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Confident Decision Maker (Hardcover)

Dawson goes over many concepts that are common sense such as realizing the qualities of a good decision-maker, finding categories for decisions. I found it helpful for students taking courses on general OR/MS. The author provides a guideline to categorize the decision problems. Is it a problem or an opportunity you must decide upon this distinction is important. Do you really have to make a decision at all?

Dawson emphasizes something that students must learn what is OR/MS is all about. One must have access to information to be able to understand the problem and make a decision. The author also emphasizes at length the importance of intuitive decision making as well as logical decision making. Both are equally important for any decision. I feel that, while students know how to do it logically, this book helps them to understand it even better. Successfully decision-making is not a talent but a 'learned skill' composed of 'concentrated though'' and 'rapid reasoning powers'. His predictable formula for reaching the best decisions and solutions combines analysis, synthesis and judgment and requires developing a sense of timing and ability to handle uncertainty and elements of risk.

The book contains interesting topics categorized into twelve chapters: The Qualities of a Good Decision Maker; Categorizing the Decision; Blueprinting the Decision; Intuitive Decision Making; Developing Rapid Reasoning; Expanding Your Options; Logical Decision Making; Reaction Tables and Decision Trees; Huddling; Barriers to Confident Decisions; Styles of Decision Making; The Nine Traits of Great Decision Makers; and The 21-Day Plan for Confident Decision Makers. Dawson lists seven steps to confident decision making, these are: Accurately categorize the situation so you start looking for the solution in the right decision. Blueprint the problem accurately, so your mind totally focuses on the problem it has to solve. Saturate your mind with facts about the problem. Position your mind for Rapid Reasoning by shutting down the left brain and stimulating the right. Move away from the problem, either physically or mentally, so your mind can view it objectively. Increase your options through a checklist of ten creative possibilities. The last step is illustrated in the book by several examples which show that often our intuition lets us down and we make sub-optimal decisions. Some decisions require for the most part, logic. Dawson uses the same example most instructors use in classrooms that of the coin toss. He describes using the coin toss to help make a decision, if only to see how you really feel about the outcome of the coin toss. He suggests making a list of the many possibilities, rating those possibilities on a scale of 1 to 10.

The author discusses reaction tables and decision trees in chapter 8. He uses a very good example of whether or not to build a house on a piece of land he owns. This decision becomes extremely complicated with costs rising or falling, different house styles, falling in love with someone who hates the house, etc? 'Decision Tree enables you to break down decision so that you can manager uncertainty more effectively. As you develop your tree of options, you need to accurately predict the likelihood of something happening or nor happening. That's where the science of probabilities comes into play. Dawson stresses the importance of showing the likelihood of an out come happening on a decision tree. Finally I would like to leave you with Dawson's 'Good' Decision Makers: Having a high tolerance for ambiguity, having a well-ordered sense of priorities, being a good listener, always building the consensus around a decision, avoiding stereotypes, always remaining resilient, being comfortable with both soft and hard input, being realistic about cost and difficulty, and avoiding a decision minefield. Overall, I have come to value the idea and usefulness of making decision using logical tools such as decision trees. I recommend 'The Confident decision Maker' for everyone interested to know what OR/MS is all about.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars learn from the BEST !, January 20, 2006

By 

George_MD (Maryland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Confident Decision Maker: How to Make the Right Business and Personal Decisions Every Time (Hardcover)

What can I say?
The book is A MUST for all of us. Even if you think that you know how to make right decisions all the time, read the book and think again.
Great Book!