Mind & Body: How do we make decisions?
Decision Balance Newsletter | 1.30.2024
Key Insight
Napoleon said “most of the time I had no definitive plans but only projects. Instead of seeking to control circumstances, I obeyed them and they forced me to change my mind all the time.” Find ways to be less attached to your ideas, research, & plans so you can pivot when new facts require reassessment.
A question to ask yourself
Are you consistent? The consistency of your endeavors (exercise, companionship, work) is more important than the quantity. Nothing beats small things done every day, which is way more important than what you do occasionally.
Reading, podcast thoughts
Daniel Kahneman, the father of behavioral economics, passed away this year. There are many learnings from his approach to analyzing cognitive bias and the distracting “noise” we all experience. His application of his research to interviewing talent is still used by the Israeli military in evaluating officers. How it works - Pick 4 separate essential skills and score the candidate on each. Once complete, then ask yourself “what is my gut overall view of the candidate.” Kahneman called this delayed intuition informed by facts and not bias.
If you want to go beyond bias to consider how your biology impacts your actions consider reading The Hour Between Dog and Wolf by John Coates. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania have found that our retina transmits 10 million bits of information per second to our brain along with 1 million from our other senses. Only 40 bits per second reaches our conscious mind. You might say our conscious mind is quite limited. Consider everything that is happening in the background by our bodies to manifest our gut instinct and intuition. We can tap into this massive data source to make better decisions. Read this book or ask for my notes to learn how.
Health
Get a full body MRI. Yes, the magnetic force is ~20x the earth’s natural magnetic field but adverse events are very rare. There is no radiation used in an MRI despite many people thinking otherwise. During a recent MRI it was discovered that I had a rare adrenaline producing tumor on my adrenal gland which eventually would have led to heart attack or stroke. My surgery was successful and I have no further issues. MRIs have some downsides but an occasional scan might save your life so consider this tool to look into your body to see clearly! Consult with your doctor of course.
Welcome to the DecisionBalance newsletter where I share insights, questions, and reading recommendations. I coach asset managers and start-up founder/CEOs to set goals, improve performance, and find deeper meaning in their work.
