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February 5, 2001

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"Smart Choices" is a Smart Idea

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Review

"Smart Choices" is a Smart Idea

by Carolyn Cooper

We'd all like to avoid mistakes. Start by reading Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions. The authors, John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa, provide a sound approach to making better decisions or at least the confidence that you've made the best decision you can under the circumstances. And unlike many other approaches I've read, they insist you take the subjective, human factors into account. They are also surprising realistic in goals, letting the reader know up front that it's still possible to have a bad outcome of any decision, but that using this method you will make better decisions and now exactly why you made the choice you did.

Like all self-help books these days, Smart Choices has a cute acronym, PrOACT, as a mnemonic for the "Eight Elements of Smart Choices", but more useful were their "Eight Keys to Effective Decision Making":

Working on the right decision problem.
Specifying your objectives.
Create imaginative alternatives.
Understand the consequences.
Grapple with your tradeoffs.
Clarify your uncertainties.
Think hard about your risk tolerance.
Consider linked decisions.

Oh, alright, the acronym ProOACT stands for Problem, Objectives, Alternatives, Consequences, Tradeoffs. Frankly, the fact that they had to add the three sub-elements, Uncertainty, Risk Tolerance and Linked Decisions, shows it's not the most effective acronym ever created, but perhaps it works for some.

The book's strength is that, aside from the awkward acronym concession to the self-help addicts, it's not filled with quick fixes or clever word play solutions to all of your problems. It teaches a straightforward procedure for solving our real life dilemmas. The authors also freely admit in the beginning that no one would, or should, use the full set of techniques for every decision. Some, like what to have for lunch, only require a quick assessment, but even there keeping the Eight Keys in mind allows you to quickly work on the right problem (I'm hungry), specify objectives (I need to eat and get back to work in 45 minutes), create imaginative alternatives (Chinese, Mexican, sandwich, coffee, candy bar or smoothie), grapple with tradeoffs (time, costs, short-term energy boost, what you crave, delayed gratification) on through considering linked decisions (eating a big meal might make me sluggish in the afternoon meeting; on the other hand, skipping lunch or eating candy may make me distracted and hyper; both might hurt my chances for making a good impression on the new boss and getting the project I want).

The pressure and stress, of course, increase with more critical and risky decisions and that's where the techniques in Smart Choices really prove effective. The authors use several case studies to walk the reader through each technique in-depth, showing the reasoning used to derive at the decision. While you may not always agree with the decision made, the reason why the decision was a "smart choice" for that individual is clear. And the authors explain that each person must come to a decision that is right for them — there's no right or wrong answer in most cases.

I wish I'd read this book 30 years ago. And I really wish we were teaching our children this method of decision-making in our schools today. It would make their lives, and our world, a better place in the future. If you want to make a wise investment in your future, pick up Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa today!

Click here to purchase Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions