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First published in Great Britain by William Collins 2013
Copyright © Noreena Hertz 2013
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Source ISBN: 9780007467105
Ebook Edition © September 2013 ISBN: 9780007467112
Version: 2014-08-26
To Danny Cohen – the best decision I ever made
Contents
THIS DECISION WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE
STEP ONE: Get to Grips with a World in Hyper-Drive
KEEP YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN
STEP TWO: See the Tiger and the Snake
STEP THREE: Don’t Be Scared of the Nacirema
BECOME YOUR OWN CUSTODIAN OF TRUTH
STEP FOUR: Ditch Deference and Challenge Experts
STEP FIVE: Learn from Shepherds and Shop Assistants
GO DIGITAL … WITH CAUTION
STEP SIX: Co-Create and Listen In
STEP SEVEN: Scrutinise Sock Puppets and Screen Your Sources
DEVELOP YOUR SURVIVAL SKILLS
STEP EIGHT: Overcome Your Maths Anxiety
STEP NINE: Monitor Your Emotional Thermostat
SHAKE THINGS UP
STEP TEN: Embrace Dissent and Encourage Difference
Get to Grips with a World in Hyper-Drive
It’s Monday morning.
In Washington, the President of the United States is sitting in the Oval Office assessing whether or not to order a military strike on Iran.
In Idaho, Warren Buffett is deciding whether to sell his Coca-Cola shares or buy more.
In Madrid, Maria Gonzalez, a mother, is trying to work out whether to let her baby continue crying until he falls asleep, or pick him up and soothe him.
I am sitting by my father’s bedside in hospital, trying to decide whether I should let the doctor operate, or wait another twenty-four hours.
We face momentous decisions with important consequences throughout our lives. Difficult and challenging problems that we are given the sole responsibility to solve.
On top of this, we have to make up to 10,000 trivial decisions every single day,1 227 just about food.2 Caffeinated or decaf? Small, medium, large or extra large? Colombian, Ecuadorian, Ethiopian? Hazelnut, vanilla or unflavoured? Cream or milk? Brown sugar or sweetener?
If you make the wrong choice when it comes to your coffee, it doesn’t matter very much. You make a face and move on.
But make the wrong choice when it comes to your finances, your health or your work, and you could end up sicker or poorer, or lose your job. And if your decisions relate to others – your parents, your children, your country or your staff – the choices you make can irreversibly impact the direction their lives will take too. Not only today, but in the months and years ahead.
Errors in decision-making lead young people