The Impulse Factor: An Innovative Approach to Better Decision Making

By Nick Tasler

Book Overview

An invaluable look into the way we make decisions that shape our lives, why our personal decision-making style is so important, and how to harness caution and impulsivity.

In his work as research and development director at the cutting-edge think tank TalentSmart, where he helps businesses work better and employees think smarter, Nick Tasler realized that the recent discovery by scientists of a potential-seeking gene could have a remarkable impact on how we understand decision making. Those who have this gene--about one quarter of the population--are endowed with impulsive tendencies that can lead to fast and decisive action or to foolish choices. The cautious majority that Tasler calls risk managers can make carefully considered decisions or become hopelessly lost in the fog of details.

Now The Impulse Factor offers readers a unique online opportunity to analyze their own decision-making style and harness it to improve their everyday lives. Each book comes with access to a proprietary assessment developed specifically to evaluate impulsivity. With examples from business, psychology, and Tasler's own research at TalentSmart, the book also vividly illustrates how susceptible we are to the events around us and how our reactions often run contrary to our best interests.

By combining his research with real-world examples of extreme decision making, Tasler teaches readers how to thrive when faced with difficult choices. More than just a book, The Impulse Factor provides a clear understanding of why you make the choices you do--and the tools to make those decisions change your business and your life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439157278
• ISBN13: 9781439157275
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Unless You Take the Test, You Will Miss Most of the Value from This Book

Over the years, I've taken tests offered for free by authors. Until The Impulse Factor, I've always found those tests to be a waste of time. None of them ever provided an insight that I didn't have before I took the test. The Impulse Factor test was different: I learned a lot about myself, including some valuable lessons about my risk preferences that I need to change. I encourage you to buy a copy a new copy of the book so that you, too, can take this revealing test. About ten years ago, I met a man who described his sense of adventure as including doing tasks with a high probability of being killed. I didn't understand why he felt that way until he mentioned that it would be worth dying young just to feel so alive in the moments before death. From The Impulse Factor, I learned that some people need lots of risk . . . even if that risk doesn't provide tangible rewards. The man's answer made a lot more sense in this context. Most people just play it safe, even when it's more rewarding to plunge ahead. A minority plunge ahead, even when it's smart to play safe. Mr. Tasler takes on the dual task of persuading us to learn from both extremes to make timely decisions that make sense. Most people make poorer decisions if they move too fast, so it's a good idea to take enough time . . . just not too much. It's dealing with those kinds of ideas that make it difficult to calibrate what you need to take away from this book. That's where the test comes in. Don't miss it!

Great Read

Warning - it's very easy to start to read for a few minutes and then discover that you've read through your lunch. I particularly liked the real world and historical anecdotes used to illustrate the different ideas - such as the story of Henry Dunant or why tulips once hurt the Dutch economy. I would recommend this as a good week-end read or maybe one to take and read while traveling.

Why are some people more successful than others? How do we make decisions?

I wish a book could be given 10 stars. "Impulse Factor" is an extraordinary read, probably the best 'C' level book I've read this year. Not only does it explore the very important question about why some people take more risks than other, but it explores ADHD, impulsivity, and personality traits of CEOs and drivers. "For far too long, we have been mystified by the process of our own decision making." If demystifying that for yourself and for others is important to you, then this is a must read book. The book is not without its faults - I could have used less anecdotes and more getting to the point. However, in terms of empirical study and real solutions on how to manage risk, succeed if you are impulsive or have ADHD in the Boardroom, this book hits on all cylinders. This book will definitely help anyone who has to understand why people make decisions, such as managers and salespeople. For example, "people think safety first, not best choice. Often decision is based on which is 'not worse.' One quarter of the population are risk takers (which includes the most successful business people and CEOs) who will defy norms. They have a deep focus on rewards and are much less concerned with risk. People who take risks tend to be more successful, and according to the author has a genetic predisposition that has endured and prospered our species. "When people fail to observe boundaries, nothing stands in their way." However such impulsivity and risk taking also creates dramatic failures and disasters. Nick Tasler spends a good part of the book explaining how to overcome the downside of impulsivity while maximizing its benefits. Read this book if you've ever been criticized for "thinking from the gut" as Jack Welch would say. Read this if you have ADHD, short attention span, or simply are a driver type personality that needs to know how to balance your strengths against the destructive side of impulsivity and aggression. I believe every executive and 'C' level person would benefit by reading "Impulse Factor."

A unique and well-crafted book, a challenge to any reader on auto-pilot

Nick Tasler has succeeded in entering the "what makes people tick" arena with a unique work that is built on common themes expressed in a distinct voice. In the Introduction, Tasler writes "By knowing each of our specific decision-making tendencies, we can exercise control over them." The "two-part formula"...laying out the variables and then suggesting ways to manipulate them for greater achievement...is a tactic that was successfully employed in George W. Dudley and Shannon L. Goodson's classic work "The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance." It is the tendency of most people to function on auto-pilot. It doesn't matter if the "learned behaviors" are constructive or destructive. Those who spend each day in focused, conscious, deliberate effort are in the minority. "The Impulse Factor" gives you the opportunity to learn about yourself, to understand your motivations, but only you can decide which (if any) changes you will implement. Chapter 8, "Risk Managers: Conquering The Fear of Big Cats," presents an interesting challenge. Like the other chapters, it is broken down into components ("The Flip Side of Fear," "Focus On Targets," "Making Effective Decisions Quickly," "Learning Decisiveness Through Failure," "Embracing The Unknown," "Inside-The-Box Learning," "Evidence-Based Management," "Think, Analyze, and React," "Managing Risk Without Running From Opportunity"). The underlying theme expressed by Tasler is "Accept your fear and plan ahead to deal with it." Or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain." Fear is an emotion which can be intellectualized, but only by the willing. That's the foundation of this book...any "driver," any emotion, anything that "makes you tick" can be analyzed and reconstructed for your benefit. Tasler discusses MAO (monoamine oxidase), the enzyme in our brain "whose job it is to keep impulses in check." There are some who accept biological factors influencing our behaviors as science and others who reject it as voodoo. Regardless of where you stand on this, it bears consideration. "The Impulse Factor" is about nuances, variables, and the individuality of its readers. It's a book that can be read, or it's a book that can be used. Your choice.

Cool Book

This is the first time I've ever written one of these customer reviews because, as a reader, I rarely trust the opinions of random people on the internet. I felt compelled to write one for The Impulse Factor, though because this is not the kind of book I'd normally buy and wanted to let other people know of my happy accident. One of the things Tasler does well in this book is take a series of pretty complicated psychological information and break it down in a way that makes the subject matter much cooler than a psych textbook from college. From dating to gambling to the NFL, the concrete examples and real-world applicability of the subject made this book as fun a read as I've had in awhile. I've always hated it when someone's behaviour gets explained as "Well, he's just like that." That never really satisfied me, so I really like to read books that explain why people are the way they are. This book does that in ways that will not only help me understand people better, but also help me when I'm conducting a job interview or working with new people on a consulting project. If I had to compare it with something else I've read, I guess I would compare it to Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Both authors know what they're talking about when it comes to psychology, but do not talk down to you like a nerdy academic. Tasler's writing style and his grounding in real-life examples makes this something I'll be buying my co-workers for Christmas.