The Rational Reminder Podcast Prof. Ralph Keeney: Decision Analysis and Value-focused Thinking (EP.238)
Decisions Are How You Influence Life
- Decisions are the only purposeful way to influence your life.
- Making better decisions is central to improving personal, family, business, and public outcomes.
Decide How Much To Optimize
- Decide how much time a decision is worth before optimizing it.
- Spend modest time on many small decisions and deeper effort on a few high-impact ones.
Front-End Mistakes Skew Decisions
- People often address the wrong decision and jump to alternatives.
- They frequently identify alternatives before clarifying objectives, limiting better options.
A large portion of what we talk about on this show boils down to decision-making, and today we have our focus squarely on the fundamentals of this process. Professor Ralph Keeney joins us to discuss some of the simplest and most profound elements of decisions, and why we so often miss these aspects. Ralph is a true expert on decision analysis, and his systematic process for decision-making, as laid out in his new book, Give Yourself a Nudge, has truly life-altering potential for anyone looking to improve their future. The book and this conversation are jam-packed with insightful and understandable ideas and examples, including clarifying objectives, the vital role of our values, generating alternatives, and a comparison between decision problems and decision opportunities. Ralph lays out a great way to get started on the path to better decisions, so make sure to join us to hear it all.
Key Points From This Episode:
- The focus of Ralph's research and how he articulates the importance of our conscious decisions. (0:03:48)
- The shortcomings of the trial and error approach that many of us naturally employ. (0:10:46)
- First steps towards being a better decision-maker; using personal decisions for practice. (0:13:08)
- Ralph explains his conception and use of the idea of 'nudges'. (0:14:30)
- A better awareness of the often-neglected front end of decision-making. (0:17:38)
- An explanation of Ralph's value-focused decision-making process. (0:22:25)
- Mistakes made around retirement decisions. (0:30:30)
- Why clarifying your personal decision values can be so difficult. (0:32:15)
- The process of translating values into objectives. (0:36:11)
- Ralph's important question around the different possible situations in the future. (0:41:49)
- Simple processes and common pitfalls for generating alternatives. (0:43:19)
- Exploring decisions that require third-party permission or commitment. (0:47:59)
- Differentiating between decision problems and decision opportunities. (0:52:27)
- The most important concepts for embodying value-focussed decision-making. (0:57:44)
- The role of financial advisors in aiding their clients to make good decisions. (1:03:28)
- Application of these ideas toward living a good life. (1:07:46)
- Ralph's simple definition of success in his own life. (1:10:53)
Participate in our 23 in 23 Reading Challenge:
23 in 23 Reading Challenge — https://rationalreminder.ca/23in23
23 in 23 Reading Challenge on Beanstalk — https://pwlcapital.beanstack.org/
Participate in our Community Discussion about this Episode: Books From Today's Episode:Give Yourself a Nudge — https://amzn.to/3WKMwZx
Smart Choices — https://amzn.to/3Ho0vP6
Value-Focused Thinking — https://amzn.to/3HgC7yH
Decisions with Multiple Objectives — https://amzn.to/3DywYRH
Links From Today's Episode:Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582.
Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/
Shop Merch — https://shop.rationalreminder.ca/
Join the Community — https://community.rationalreminder.ca/
Follow us on Twitter — https://twitter.com/RationalRemind
Follow us on Instagram — @rationalreminder
Benjamin on Twitter — https://twitter.com/benjaminwfelix
Cameron on Twitter — https://twitter.com/CameronPassmore
Prof. Ralph Keeney — https://ralphkeeney.com/