There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
HOT READS FOR THE PRACTIONER
Title: decisions, decisions, decisions
Competency: decision-making
Who benefits: those interested in how each of us makes a decision
Consultant Usage: background material for coaching the decision-making competency
What’s it about: I love the numbers game “Sudokuâ€. I play the game on the Internet as offered by two newspapers. Thursdays and Fridays are particularly difficult. I frequently get about 2/3 of the way through and get stuck. The game is a game of reason, so I use all my rationality … and I am still stuck. However, I have learned that if I relax, lean back and try to see the whole game at once, some flash of insight will lead me more often than not to the correct solution.
What do I see? I don’t know. I can’t prove my idea at that moment. It was just something that I saw in a “Blink†of an eye. Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink) would know what I am talking about.
Not so fast would counter Jonah Lehrer, author of a new book How We Decide. Lehrer posits that we are in a constant process of weighing reason and emotion to make informed choices. He suggests that the more we understand how we actually go about making a decision, the better decisions we will make. He says that those “Blink†moments are actually the culmination of the brain reasoning process…the moment of decision may be emotional, but there is a lot of reasoning going on right up to the “gut†decision.
About two months ago I wrote about the need for greater critical thinking skills. I stated that in my opinion, one measure of intelligence is the ability to hold contradictory ideas in your head at one time. Since then I have been playing with my own definition of intelligence: The highest level is the ability to hold two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The mid level of intelligence is the ability to hold and understand one idea at a time. The lowest form of intelligence is to hold someone else’s idea in your head.
If you have read Blink, this is a great opportunity to test yourself for higher level intelligence. Read a book that essentially counters what Gladwell wrote. Can you accept the validity of both books simultaneously? That is the test.
I’m not through reading Lehrer’s book yet, but I have decided that both authors have much to offer and much to consider. You and I are free to pick and choose the ideas from both books that resonate with us.Â
One thing the two books do have in common is “readabilityâ€. Lehrer’s book has a more scientific, research base to it, but it is written in a clear and easy-to-read style. And both authors are great story-tellers. Lehrer takes on such burning issues as “Is expensive wine really better than cheaper wine?†and why those seeking a healthy diet will sit down and eat a piece of chocolate cake. I love those stories!
Which book is better? Both of them! That’s my decision and I am sticking to it.
Catch you later.
Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.
