Think Twice

Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition

By: Michael J. Mauboussin

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

How to stop yourself before you make another costly decision.... No one intentionally makes bad decisions. Yet we make them all the time. In fact, some of the worst disasters in recent history - the collapse of major investment banks, the global financial meltdown - were the result of seemingly reasonable decisions made by a lot of smart people. How does this happen?

Michael J. Mauboussin argues that the correct process for deciding well - especially when the stakes are high - conflicts with how our minds naturally work.

When faced with complex situations, our brains revert to simplified patterns that obscure better approaches to the problem. Even when we think we’re applying logic and reason, we’re subconsciously succumbing to social or situational influences. Fortunately, we can override our mind’s default systems - that is, we can counter our intuition - by learning to “think twice”.

In this compelling audiobook, Mauboussin outlines a disciplined approach to decision-making that will significantly reduce costly mistakes. Through vivid stories from business, sports, science, and everyday life, Mauboussin categorizes common mental mistakes and offers actionable advice for avoiding them, including:

• The Inside/Outside View: Take the experiences of others into account
• Tunnel Vision: Force yourself to consider alternatives that make you uncomfortable
• The Whole Is Smarter Than Its Parts: Don’t oversimplify complex problems
• Situational Power: Be highly aware of the influence others have on you
• The Expert Squeeze: Know when to trust so-called experts, and when not to

Backed by powerful research and shrewd analysis, this audio book gives you a mental toolkit for spotting dangerous decision traps - and making smarter choices in your professional and personal life.

©2009 Michael J. Mauboussin (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

“It’s hard to think of a longer lever than better decision making, and today research in this area is advancing rapidly. In Think Twice, Mauboussin boils it all down into the key insights you really need in order to train yourself to make effective, stronger decisions.” (Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon.com)

Nothing original

I heard only 1 h but it is enough. I heard 10 time quotes from Daniel Kahneman books. What brings original this book? I will buy Daniel Kahneman books instead.

Not a practical book

I bought the book after listening the interview with the author. Unfortunately the book did not give me practical recommendations nor in investment nor in life behavior. Language of the book is unnecessarily "scientific". While the experience and PhD degree of the author are not questioned, this book gives little to no practical advise nor in investment nor in life...

good book.

I found it to be a more practical consumable version of "Thinking Fast and Slow" which I also loved.

interesting

make you realise how easy it is to manipulate yourself. The mind has the power.........

Must read for any leader

Very applicable and easy to understand. I’ve already started implementing some of the decision making recommendations and seeing benefits.

Read this book

Open your mind to cognitive biases and learn the basic foundations about what affects the choices you make

Is this the original?

Three books that are basically the same.

Think Twice by Michael j. Mauboussin. Release date 10-06-10
Think Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Release date 11-25-11
Rationality By Steven Pinker. Release date 9-28-21

This was disappointing to figure out by listening to these three books consecutively. All three use the same case study. All three are pretty much in the same chapter order.

The information is good I just don't like the unoriginality.

Underwhelming

Material seems thorough but is presented in a very cut and dry approach. I liked the real world examples of the fallacious decision making and there should have been many more of them. Recommend trimming down to fewer biases (maybe into two separate books) with more real world examples of them in action. Target audience also seemed more academic at times than real world (e.g., why do I care about who was the author of some study, that can be in a footnote to the reader rather than in the text).

The author never disappoints.

The author never disappoints. I read all Michael Mauboussin books and articles. This was just as great as the rest.

A worthwhile read/listen

All in all a great book. It's not too long but packed with solid information. I'd give it an A-.

Extremely beneficial and beautifully narrated

The book identifies multiple issues we have as humans in all fields, especially in finance. This book is life changing