Very rewarding, fulfilling its promise

This work is clear, well-structured, well-paced, and understandable. It moves fluidly between practical pointers (sometimes checklist-like, with nice summaries) and examples that keep it moving nicely. I admire the work of a professor who has obviously invested plenty of time, thought and experience into making such a crafted and polished product. I have read other books in this area (most recently "Guide to Decision Making" by H. Drummond here at audible), and I do like to sample around, but this one for me is head and shoulders above anything I've seen. Plugging these suggestions in to current decisions (alone or with others) makes me feel more like I am flying with "instruments" versus guessing with gaping (unknown) blind spots. Yet, the approach is not "paint by numbers:" good human reckoning is still required, but augmented with the assistance of various guides, reminders and prompts along the way. I'm sure I will listen through this one again.

81 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Good course but broad brushes a lot

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The political and PR POV were glossed over, especially in the Shuttle disasters.

Richard Feynman's analysis stated that management inexplicably believed the probability of failure to be 1000 times less than their working engineers. Feynman concludes "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled"

The Shuttle disaster was more than poor decision making. It bordered on a cavalier incompetence by management but the course painted the management in a much better light.

Case studies have strengths and weaknesses because what is presented is only what supports the conclusion. The shuttle disaster are but one. Having read some of the analysis on these events, I think that the course really misses the mark here and Incredibly, partially blamed the engineer for not making a better case!

What did you like best about this story?

The last part of the course had good material. In the end it emphasized techniques to ferret out problems that can be solved earlier vs later.It provided techniques that will help foster discussion, debate and result in better decisions

What about Professor Michael A. Roberto’s performance did you like?

Very good performance although there was a tendency at times to use straw man arguments.

Was The Art of Critical Decision Making worth the listening time?

Very good course. Offered a lot of very good ideas and techniques to combat group think and other decision making pitfalls.

40 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

CRITICAL DECISION-DECISION MAKING

In the Great Courses’ lecture series, Dr. Michael Roberto, characterizes leadership in “The Art of Critical Decision Making”. Roberto’s primary methodology is examination of case studies that range from the Cuban missile crises, to the Daimler/Chrysler merger, to the 9/11/01 Trade Center bombing. He offers perspective on how good decisions can be made when complexity exceeds average to superior individual human capability.

Roberto’s argument is that a structured participatory process is the most consistently productive form of critical decision-making. Roberto infers, as the world becomes more complex, individual comprehension and patterning of facts becomes less reliable as a form of critical decision-making. His argument relies on leadership structure that insists on communication transparency and qualified freedom. Roberto suggests leaders elicit ideas from engaged people, rather than only experts, in making critical decisions meant to identify problems, proffer solutions, and accomplish goals.

Leaders need to engage employees whose ideas will be listened to, used, and appreciated rather than abjectly dismissed. Executives, who are more concerned about position than organizational effectiveness, are not leaders. They are cowards.

31 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

The clapping. Oh, the clapping!

I’m on the fence about these “Great Courses.” Each lecture begins with the same snippet of classical music. The kind that (tries to) signal that something sophisticated is about to happen. Each lecture ends with obviously fake clapping. The folks reviewing these “Great Courses” universally have taken notice of how awful it is. Maybe I’m petty for mentioning it, but it made me suspicious of the whole product.

I listened to this course and another one (by a different professor) on cyber security. Each of these courses shared the same strength: organization/conceptual clarity in surveying the various topics you might expect to find under the topic’s umbrella. But that strength notwithstanding, I struggled to finish both courses. Here, there’s a dumbing down quality; a feeling that Roberto is lecturing to the lowest common denominator. Also, the book’s audible blurb suggests that the course is aimed to help you “approach the critical decisions in your life,” but the material is 99% MBA-type material addressing business/management situations. I was also left with the nagging feeling that Roberto could have delivered the same content in a quarter of the time.

The Audible environment makes transparent the time commitment the book or lecture commands. Twelve and half hours (or faster if you rev up the audio) spent on this lecture series is twelve and half hours I won’t spend on something else. And so, when it comes to spending future credits – to committing my future listening time – I’m leaning towards picking what’s behind door #2.

31 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A Good Primer...

for much of the material covered in a better book, namely, Malcolm Gladwell's Blink: How To Think Without Thinking. Though Blink is more dynamic and interesting, I would not say that this course should be simply blown off in favor of Gladwell, but rather that it should be used as a preparation for it. There is also additional information and knowledge to be gleaned from this course that one does not find in Blink, and thus, it remains a fine choice on its own merits. Roberto also does a good job of combining business, psychology, cognitive science and sociology to get to the root of what makes for good decision making. Listen to Roberto, and then use what is gotten here to move up to Gladwell.

29 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great book for aspiring leaders

Where does The Art of Critical Decision Making rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10 books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The fireman leader.

What about Professor Michael A. Roberto’s performance did you like?

The clear and effective manner of articulation of complex concepts

What did you learn from The Art of Critical Decision Making that you would use in your daily life?

To be aware of my biases and manage them in my decision making at my profesional career.

27 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

5 star with a caveat

The course got off to a slow start but got more and more compelling. I will probably go back and listen to parts over and over.

My complaint may sound trivial but it suggests a lack of care and respect for the listener. It is mispronounced words. Sometimes a reader just doesn't know the pronunciation, which is understandable though less so in a
Professor. Mostly it wasn't much of a problem. However, when a lecture concerns Three Mile Island and the lecturer pronounces nuclear as "nucular" over and over it isn't a mistake it's a choice. I don't know his reasoning but every time he says the word it interrupts concentration on what he's saying. I found myself waiting for it, which is surely not what Prof. Roberto intended.

19 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Worthwhile and true to the title

The content is based on years of research and presented through means of case studies. It is very well organized and easy to digest as an audio book. It was worth the listen and helpful for developing decision making skills.

15 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Very good

What did you love best about The Art of Critical Decision Making?

The content was very good. In fact, I am now going through the book again to take notes.

What about Professor Michael A. Roberto’s performance did you like?

This book sticks to the content, rather than repetition, lame stories, or anecdotes.

Any additional comments?

I think dry books such as these need to be read at 3x speed. If you've never tried it before, give it 15 to 20 minutes... and see how you like it. I think you will adjust and come to the conclusion I have, that 3x is the only way to go when you are listening to subject matter that can be dry.

13 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great ideas, not the best audio

Any additional comments?

This book contains some great ideas. I am glad I listened to the text and definitely gained useful insights. However, the audio reading is not the best. This might be a book better read, if you have the time.

11 personnes ont trouvé cela utile