Business

The Heath Bothers, authors “Made to Stick” and “Switch” deliver their latest work on how to make better decisions. They offer four major reasons why decisions can run afoul. These include inappropriate problem framing, confirmation bias, and emotional interference and preparation for being wrong. They assert that a process will significantly improve your decision making skills. That is, process plus data improves the odds of a correct decision over data alone. As is their trademark, they come up with a pity pneumonic for their solution WRAP.

I thought the book was pretty good, it had the appropriate level of details and background stories. Earthshaking it was not. The concepts provide a framework for decision making similar to knife skills give you a framework for successful food preparation – without these things, outcomes will be unpredictable and vary. If you are looking for a Tour de Force in decision making, read “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. The Heath brothers even said as much in the initial chapter -- I totally agree.

Certainly, this book is easy to digest and if their advice is implemented, WRAP will lead to better decision making. It is a worthwhile listen but don’t expect shattering new insights. It is solid and worthwhile.

It is hard to overstate the relevance and importance of the technology adoption curve and the chasm inherent in it introduced my Moore. I read the book in the 1990s. It was finally released on audible just this week. The technology adoption curve speaks to the five classes of adopters: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. The chasm sits between the early adopters and the early majority. If you want to find out why and how to overcome this potential trap, you are going to have read this fascinating work by Geoffrey Moore.

I have made this required reading for my staff in marketing, sales and software documentation. I have also insisted on individuals starting out in tech read this book especially if they are trying to understand how to craft value propositions. It has something for us old grizzled veterans because it reminds of things we forget or sometimes just don’t take the time to do anymore. Sales folks will benefit because it explains why some people buy and some don’t. This is one of those books you'll have to have in your library. You should also have a hard copy to make a ton of notes in the margin.