The United States Military Academy is an elite, selective institution with an acceptance rate of less than 10 percent. Despite this, not everyone who matriculates graduates. Psychologists Amy Wrzesniewski and Barry Schwartz decided to find out why. Drawing on 14 years of data detailing the motivations and outcomes of over 10,000 cadets, they found intrinsic […]
The Science of Motivation
The Science of Decision Fatigue
4 Ways to Make Fewer, Better Choices
Think back to the last decision you made. What were your options? How did you choose what to do? Most importantly, was the outcome of this decision instrumental in building your life, productivity, or happiness? Unless I caught you at a particularly productive or essential moment, probably not. Most of the decisions we make are […]
Don’t Choose Your Lunch
Fewer Decisions Will Leave a Great Taste
Back in 2014, Barack Obama declared that he only focused on making the most-important decisions. “I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make,” he explained. This is understandable. Sometimes we find ourselves beset by the decisions, big and small, that we think have […]
Best Tools for Decision Making
Why Leaders Don't Have to Go It Alone
Decision making is a big part of leadership. As a leader, one is expected to take decisions all the time. Some of these are of a routine nature, while others have the power to change the course of a business. A lot rides on a leader’s decisions. They can impact the livelihood of the staff, […]
How to Make High Leverage Decisions
4 Simple Strategies for Making Fewer, Faster, Better Decisions
Good leaders thrive on making high-leverage decisions. But facing too many daily choices can be overwhelming. Eventually, we’re tempted to overthink every choice—or abdicate choosing altogether. In this episode, we show you four simple strategies to streamline your decision making. When we’re done, you’ll say goodbye to mental exhaustion. And you’ll gain the confidence and […]
Check Baby, Checklist
4 Lists to Aid Your Decision Making
We are a society of list-makers. We gather groups of to-dos and to-don’ts, would-bes and should-bes, and we slap them down on legal pads and post-it notes, fancy journal pages, and stained napkins. Far too often those lists fail to translate to measurable success. It doesn’t have to be this way. When making lists, a little […]