The Dynamic Decisionmaker: Five Decision Styles for Executive and Business Success

by Kenneth R. Brousseau, Michael J. Driver, Phillip L. Hunsaker

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0887302971
• ISBN13: 9780887302978
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

what is your habitual way of deciding, planning, solving problems?

This book is a popularization of an academic stream of research known as Integrative Complexity Theory (http://www.psych.ubc.ca/~psuedfeld/RESTlab/Complexity/); (http://www.stanford.edu/group/diversity/coding.htm). It describes how our style -- a habitual mode of making decisions -- relates to career, work, jobs, etc. with each style having strengths and weaknesses. Some of us habitually seek out a great deal of information, which takes time, while others take a "good enough" approach. Thus some are maximizers while some are satisficers. With this information, some of us quickly come up with a basic approach, point of view, one way of seeing things -- the solution. This unifocus style is contrasted with a multi-focused style that resists single perspectives and alternatives and has several points of view always in play. (The decisives -- who want THE answer quickly delivered -- are unlikely to appreciate this book; the integratives -- whose style is to embrace multiple perspectives -- will more likely enjoy the book.) The book is based on empirical research. There are studies on which styles get along, what they look for in work and careers, how they plan (are they planning averse, do they generate contingency plans, etc.) and a wealth of other factors. The Nov. 11, 2006 Business Week describes how the consulting firm Korn Ferry has purchased some rights to the questionnaire described in the book. Its not clear if you can still get it scored. In short, the text is a popularization of one of the more powerful theories in cognitive psychology. It assesses how we process information, how we solve problems, how we make decisions, how we plan. It assesses our cognitive style. We kind of miss this because -- like the fish in water -- how we think is all around us. This book can make you aware of something so basic, it is everywhere, in how you engage the world of information and thought.