Decisive is the book of the year. Sure, being a huge fan of the Brothers Heath causes me to have what the authors call “confirmation bias,” but let’s put that aside for the moment. This completes the trifecta – it’s their third brilliant book in a row. They’ve followed up Made to Stick and Switch with this new one, and like their first two, it’s written quite literally for everyone. What, you want to appoint yourself captain of Team I Don’t Need to Make Better Decisions? Please. Everyone reading – and, um, not reading – this summary review can improve his/her decision process, and this is the exact book for making such strides. Chip and Dan Heath write with humor and clarity and always use oddball examples highlighting everyday people and the famous alike. There is no pomposity in their style and they have the cleverest way this side of Malcolm Gladwell of retelling tales so as to drive home an important point, making it perfectly memorable. Wrap all of this around their WRAP process (Widen Your Options, Reality-Test Your Assumptions, Attain Distance Before Deciding, Prepare to Be Wrong) and you have yourself a gem of a book.
What tough decision are you facing in your business? Is it time to fire a mediocre employee, pursue a large contract, or throw your hat in the ring for a big promotion? No matter the case, the WRAP process will ensure that you have a well-thought out strategy to prevent the dreaded hasty mistake. The authors share Andy Grove’s process when he was president of Intel; he made decisions in a “if I were fired today, what would my replacement do?” frame. They also delve into the horrifyingly bad decision Quaker made in 1994 when acquiring Snapple and summarize with a simple twist: you can spend $1.8 billion (with a b) on one thing… or on another. When you’re done reading this particular case study, you’ll wonder how any of the then-board members at the oat maker were ever elected to their positions. The studies shared herein conclude that often we need to distance ourselves from the classic “should I/shouldn’t I?” malaise and, well, get big picture. To make perfectly sound decisions, we must actively seek disagreement and employ devil’s advocates. Fun fact: the original Devil’s Advocate started in the Catholic Church and for centuries “his role was to build a case against sainthood” in debates regarding canonization. Nine years of ruler-wielding nuns but I never knew that little kernel before!
And speaking of fun facts, Decisive also points out the genius of… David Lee Roth. You remember the Van Halen singer, you know, the guy with his back against the record machine? Assuming so, you likely recall that the infamously decadent Reagan-era rock band insisted in its contracts on having no brown M&M’s in their backstage candy bowl. Jerks, right? Wrong. Roth used this request as a “tripwire” knowing that, if he saw brown candy, then venue management didn’t read the contract carefully and therefore there’d be greater concerns to address. Roadies would then comb the entire place looking for issues that could ruin a performance. Now that’s a reliable process. But wait, there’s so much more! The rise of crafty Redbox (drivers stocking titles they purchased at Walmart); the fall of stubborn Kodak (yeah, the cell phone camera kinda caught on); and the accident that became Rogaine (the original product was made to solve, well, a different problem for the aging male). All of these stories are routed in taking the smart path in decision making. The question is whether or not you want the Heath boys to help you. Well…