We make around 35,000 decisions a day, most of them automatically, on autopilot. That efficiency is essential, but it's also where most errors originate, and the stakes rise sharply when decisions are complex and involve other people. In fact, around half of major strategic decisions are considered failures within two years, made not by careless people, but by intelligent, experienced professionals under real conditions.
This one-hour program takes you on a journey from theory to practice, so you understand how decisions are actually made and how to make better ones, for yourself and for those you lead or advise.
Across eight short sections it builds progressively: dual-process ("fast and slow") thinking, cognitive biases and heuristics, behavioural science principles, a practical 7-step decision framework, real-world case studies of great and poor decisions, the link between decisions and outcomes, and techniques for making better decisions, closing with practical exercises. Every concept is paired with tools and techniques you can apply immediately in everyday life, at work or at home.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Explain how we make decisions, including dual-process ("fast and slow") thinking and the role of the unconscious mind.
Recognise common cognitive biases and heuristics and how they lead capable people to predictable errors.
Apply behavioural science principles to real decisions.
Use a structured 7-step decision framework to approach higher-stakes choices.
Analyse real-world case studies to distinguish great decisions from poor ones and connect decisions to their outcomes.
Apply practical tools and techniques to make better decisions, for themselves and those they lead or advise.
