Australian Leadership Development Centre Book Review

Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, is a great read for any leader wanting to enhance their ability to make good decisions quickly.

Malcolm highlights a fact that sits uncomfortably with many managers - many decisions are snap judgements that if carefully scrutinized are based on very little objective data at all. As Charles Darwin pointed out, people are not rational beings but rationalizing ones – that is we develop rational reasons for our decisions after we have actually made them.

Snap judgements aren’t bad. In fact they are quite often what is called for in the moment and Malcolm goes on to illustrate how leaders can train their minds to focus on the most relevant nuggets of information available with illustrative case studies from a wide variety of fields.

Like the book but lack the time to read it? Buy the 8 –page executive summary here and learn:

• How unique but learnable skills can empower human perception and understanding.
• Why some people are brilliant decision makers.
• Why some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error.
• How our brains really work — in the office, in the classroom and in the marketplace.
• Why some snap decisions have better results than those we agonize over.
• How some of the best decision makers utilize the theory of thin-slicing to their competitive advantage.
• Why snap decisions are so important.
• How training and practice can affect our ability to make the right decision.
• How to read minds by watching facial movements.