Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Biographies
Part I The Decision Quality Framework
1 The Power of Decisions
Decision Quality: A Framework for Better Decisions
Decision Skills Can be Learned
Decisions Versus Outcomes
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
2 The Requirements for Decision Quality
The Appropriate Frame
Creative Alternatives
Relevant and Reliable Information
Clear Values and Tradeoffs
Sound Reasoning
Commitment to Action
JUDGING THE QUALITY OF A DECISION
Key Points to Remember
Endnotes
3 Getting to Decision Quality
Declaring the Need for a Decision
Setting the Decision Agenda
Understanding the Destination of Decision Quality
Avoiding Decision Traps and biases
Designing the Decision Process through Diagnosis
Tailoring to fit the decision
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
Endnotes
Part II The Six Requirements for DQ
4 The Appropriate Frame
A Friday Afternoon Dilemma
The Key Components of a frame
Framing the Friday Afternoon Dilemma
An Extended Example: THE House Decision
Developing an Appropriate Frame
The Decision Hierarchy: A Tool for Framing
Things that Can Go Wrong
Judging the Quality of a Decision Frame
Key Points to Remember
Endnotes
5 Creative Alternatives
Characteristics of Good Alternatives
The Strategy Table: A Tool for Defining Alternatives
Things that Can Go Wrong
Judging the Quality of Alternatives
Key Points to Remember
Endnotes
6 Relevant and Reliable Information
INFORMATION FROM A DECISION PERSPECTIVE
An Extended Example: Michael’s Job Choice
STRUCTURING THE RELEVANT INFORMATION IN A DECISION
The Decision Tree: A Tool for Structuring a Decision
What is Reliable?
Things that Can Go Wrong
Judging the Quality of Information
Key Points to Remember
Endnotes
7 Clear Values and Tradeoffs
Values and tradeoffs for Decisions
Michael’s Values and Tradeoffs
Values in a Business Context
Making Tradeoffs in Business Decisions
Things that Can Go Wrong
Judging the Quality of Values
Key Points to Remember
Endnotes
8 Sound Reasoning
Reasoning for Michael’s Job Decision
Reasoning in More Complex Decisions
The Relevance Diagram: A Tool for Structuring Complex Decisions
The DECISION MODEL: A Tool for analyzing Complex Decisions
The Tornado Diagram: A Tool for Displaying the Relevance of Information
Flying Bars: A Tool for Displaying Overall Uncertainty
Things that Can Go Wrong
When to Get Help with Reasoning
The Power of ITERATING FROM A SIMPLE START
Judging the Quality of Reasoning
Key Points to Remember
Endnotes
9 Commitment to Action
Two Mindsets: Decision and Action
Commitment through Participation and Ownership
Conscious Commitment
Things that Can Go Wrong
Judging the Quality of Commitment to Action
Key Points to Remember
Part III How to Achieve DQ
10 Biases and Traps in Decision-Making
MECHANISMS OF THE MIND
Protection of Mindset
Personality and Habits
Faulty Reasoning
Automatic Associations and Relative Thinking
Social Influences
Summing Up
Endnotes
11 Megabiases that Undermine DQ
DQ and Megabiases
Megabias #1: Narrow Framing
Megabias #2: The Illusion of DQ
Megabias #3: The Agreement Trap
Megabias #4: The Comfort Zone Megabias
Megabias #5: The Advocacy/Approval Myth
General Guidelines for Avoiding Megabiases
Endnotes
12 Achieving Quality in Strategic Decisions
The Dialogue Decision Process
Four Phases of Dialogue
Every Decision Situation is Different
Advantages of the DDP
13 Achieving Quality in Significant Decisions
THE DQ APPRAISAL CYCLE: ITERATING OUR WAY TO DQ
The DQ Appraisal Cycle in Action: ROBIN’S CAREER CROSSROADS
Summing Up
Part IV The Journey to DQ
14 The Amoco Unleaded Gasoline Decision
Getting Started on the Unleaded Decision
Seeking Greater Clarity on the Key Uncertainty
Competing Reports
The Bottom Line
Decades of Experience in Improving Value
Endnotes
15 Building Organizational Decision Quality
Organizational DQ
The Components of ODQ
Reaching ODQ
Chevron’s Journey to ODQ
Taking the First Step
Endnotes
16 Embarking on the DQ Journey
What Next?
Endnotes
References
