The hottest Decision-making Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Never Cancel Your Score

Metarational • 39 implied HN points • 20 Feb 23
🚌 Education Decision-making
  1. Consider carefully before canceling a test score; a canceled score might indicate a lower result than what you truly achieved.
  2. The reasoning behind deciding to cancel scores can become complex, especially when assumptions about the perception of reasonability are involved.
  3. The decision-making process on whether to cancel a test score can be influenced by hidden assumptions and levels of metaknowledge.

My Cup Runneth Over

Investing 101 • 46 implied HN points • 19 Oct 24
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. It's really important to figure out what you believe and why you believe it. By understanding your beliefs, you can make better decisions in life.
  2. Learning isn't just good for personal growth; it's also important for keeping a free society. When people are informed, they can make better choices as citizens.
  3. When exploring ideas, try to do so based on your own research instead of just following popular trends. This way, you can discover unique insights that others might overlook.

Do the more rare thing

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 09 Oct 22
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. When faced with tough decisions, you can simplify by ranking factors like academics or location. This helps you narrow down your choices.
  2. If two options seem equal, consider choosing the rarer one. It's often harder to get and might be better for you in the long run.
  3. Choosing something rare can protect you from regret. It makes you less likely to change your mind later since you might not have that option again.

Can taste beat peer review?

New Things Under the Sun • 160 implied HN points • 24 Apr 23
🔬 Science Decision-making
  1. Scientific peer review has its strengths, but it also has shortcomings like high costs and potential biases.
  2. Empowering individuals to make decisions on resource allocation can sometimes outperform peer review, especially for supporting less conventional or risky research projects.
  3. Studies show that editors can play a significant role in selecting high-impact or novel research papers, showcasing the importance of individual decision-makers in scientific publishing.

Asking the Right Questions

Equal Ventures • 138 implied HN points • 29 Jun 21
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. In the world of venture capital, it's essential to differentiate between 'information gathering' and 'conviction building.'
  2. Conviction building involves asking the right questions that focus on the core aspects that truly matter for investment.
  3. Efficiency in the investment process is key; asking the right questions saves time and streamlines decision-making.
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How to feel more certain in your strategic decisions

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Look at past examples to help understand new situations. Historical contexts can give insights that make tough decisions easier.
  2. Adjust the reward system to make the risks of wrong decisions feel less daunting. This allows for more exploration without the fear of huge penalties.
  3. Use anonymous voting to find out what people really think. This can reveal hidden concerns that might not come up in open discussions.

Why companies (like Nike or Starbucks) make good or bad decisions

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 31 Oct 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Words like strategy and culture are losing their meaning in companies, making it hard to make clear decisions.
  2. Starbucks' mission statement is seen as too vague and fluffy, which can lead to confusion about their goals.
  3. Nike focuses on marathon world records because it emphasizes performance and achievement, aligning with their brand values.

Resisting Deterministic Thinking

Data: Made Not Found (by danah) • 145 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. Deterministic thinking can lead to polarization and distrust in discussions about the future.
  2. Embracing probabilistic thinking is essential for understanding how technologies shape different possible futures.
  3. Projectories can be both beneficial and detrimental, highlighting the need for more nuanced and reflexive thinking about the impacts of technology.

The Hagakure #61: Sunday Round-Up

The Hagakure • 115 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Improve performance by leading with trust and compassion, engaging in conversations, reducing fear, and providing guidance instead of advice.
  2. Enhance hiring effectiveness by building a system, partnering with recruitment experts, being authentic with candidates, aligning values, and focusing on potential over experience.
  3. Scale yourself by allowing for high-quality decisions, sharing mental models, communicating processes, setting boundaries, and seeking diverse perspectives for better outcomes.

Semantic Superiority - Part 1

davidj.substack • 143 implied HN points • 22 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. A semantic layer simplifies accessing and organizing business data by using common business terms.
  2. Without a semantic layer, organizations risk confusion, poor decision-making, and inconsistency in data usage.
  3. Having a well-maintained semantic layer facilitates quick decision-making, consensus building, and effective risk management.

You can't fire your boss

Midnight Manager • 4 HN points • 11 May 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. If you're unhappy with your boss, you can either stay and try to make it work or leave for a new job.
  2. Consider setting specific goals for improvements with a deadline in order to decide if sticking around is worth it.
  3. Don't rely on the hope that your boss will be fired or leave - focus on what you can control to find happiness.

How Much Data Is Too Much?

Build To Scale • 19 implied HN points • 15 Sep 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Focus on a small set of key metrics at the executive level to avoid conflicting views and promote progress.
  2. Be cautious of over-analyzing data and creating a culture where analysis overshadows taking necessary actions.
  3. For startups, while revenue predictability is important, it's natural to experience volatility, especially in early stages.

Are you too tired to make the right decisions? [Growth Needle™]

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Your mental state is really important when making decisions. If you're stressed or tired, it's harder to think clearly and make good choices.
  2. Finding 'Domino Decisions' can help you focus on what actions will make the biggest impact. It's about identifying the small steps that lead to bigger changes.
  3. To solve problems effectively, it's essential to find the root causes. Just treating symptoms won't fix issues in the long run.

On the Quality of Things

NonTrivial • 19 implied HN points • 28 Mar 23
🍲 Food & Drink Decision-making
  1. Quality is important in both consumption and creation, but assessing quality in consumed items can be challenging as it is determined upfront.
  2. Defining quality involves considering an object's ability to solve the problem it was created for, with high quality objects more likely to maintain their category membership over time.
  3. Assessing quality in objects involves looking at their ingredients or components, with fewer ingredients often indicating higher quality, but also considering the heterogeneity of the ingredients in the context of the problem being solved.

Trial Balloons

Brain Lenses • 19 implied HN points • 07 Mar 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Decision-making
  1. A trial balloon is a test of messaging or direction to gauge public response.
  2. Using trial balloons can help predict reactions to potential decisions.
  3. Trial balloons are widely used in politics, business, and other areas to shape public opinion.

Part 2: What goes wrong when business, finance, data, and technology worlds collide?

The Data Score • 19 implied HN points • 16 Aug 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Silos and problems in business, finance, data, and technology worlds are mostly self-contained and are becoming more complex over time
  2. Challenges arise when experts talk past each other, fall into the 'smartest person in the room' syndrome, and fear failure in collaborative projects
  3. Successful collaboration requires effective communication, empathy, and psychological safety to navigate jargon, unstated motivations, and pressure of high stakes

Stop thinking and go to market

Nate is Learning • 19 implied HN points • 14 Jun 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. When testing new markets, go straight to market with your offer instead of wasting time on research.
  2. Going to market quickly gives you real-time feedback, helps you make money, and uncovers the truth about product-market fit.
  3. By engaging real buyers, you will shorten your learning curve, spend less money, and make sales in the process.

The fallacy of mission, vision and values

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Mission statements should provide clear direction but often don't help in day-to-day decisions. It's important to make them practical for true guidance.
  2. Vision is seen as a longer-term aspiration that provides motivation. But it needs to be clear so everyone knows what they are working towards.
  3. Values should guide behavior and decision-making within an organization. Instead of being vague, they should be specific and actionable to be effective.

From Command to Consensus

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Flexing authority can lead to resentment and limited commitment in real-life scenarios.
  2. Inviting disagreement and consensus from team members can lead to stronger decisions and higher motivation.
  3. Disagree and Commit principle can help in calibrating the use of authority, creating more commitment and reducing resentment.

On going first

Infinitely More • 12 implied HN points • 30 May 25
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. In many games, going first can give a big advantage, which isn't always fair. It's important to find ways to balance the game for both players.
  2. Rules like the 'swap rule' in games like Hex can help make things fair, but they may not always work perfectly for every game.
  3. For games like Go, figuring out the right value to give the second player can be tricky, and the common values used might not actually be the best.

There are always choices

Comment is Freed • 82 implied HN points • 19 Nov 23
💾 History Decision-making
  1. History is shaped by the choices individuals make, especially during times of crisis
  2. While big impersonal forces like demography and geography matter, individuals in positions of power play a significant role in making crucial decisions
  3. It is important to understand the constraints and possibilities before individuals when analyzing historical events

p < 0.05 considered harmful

Simplicity is SOTA • 122 HN points • 10 Apr 23
🔬 Science Decision-making
  1. The standard use of p < 0.05 as a threshold in experiment analysis may not be as useful as commonly believed.
  2. The choice of p < 0.05 as a significance level in experiments is a default that was set nearly a century ago.
  3. In the tech industry, where the goal is to find real product improvements, the risk of false negatives should also be carefully considered, not just false positives.

How products exploit our biases

Gentle Nudge • 2 HN points • 19 Jun 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Biases are judgments with little or no logical rationale behind them, affecting our decisions despite lacking justification.
  2. Biases are ideal tools for marketing as they are often subconscious and common among people, making them effective for a wide range of individuals.
  3. Marketing strategies exploit biases like decision fatigue, scarcity bias, and anchoring effect to influence consumer decisions and drive sales.

Episode 35: Better Built By Burkhard

burkhardstubert • 39 implied HN points • 01 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) help document important decisions about projects clearly. They let everyone involved understand the reasons and consequences behind decisions.
  2. Using ADRs improves communication by allowing team members to think through decisions at their own pace. This leads to better discussions and less conflict in meetings.
  3. ADRs include details like context, options, and the final decision, making it easier to revisit and adjust earlier choices if needed. This establishes a structured and flexible decision-making process.

Let's cut some cake

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 20 Mar 22
🚌 Education Decision-making
  1. To share something fairly, one person should cut it while the other picks their piece. This way, both care about fairness.
  2. In team discussions or disagreements, break down decisions into parts to find common ground and make it easier for everyone to agree.
  3. Using a math-based approach can help settle arguments quickly and fairly, showing that cooperation can work better than fighting.

Principles and discomfort

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 31 Jul 22
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Companies should write down their principles, but they need to focus on real-life situations. It's important to consider what happens during conflicts or tight deadlines.
  2. It's good to prioritize principles so everyone knows what matters most. Listing trade-offs can help teams make better decisions when things get tough.
  3. Successful teams must design principles that reflect real choices and constraints. This way, they can handle stress better and understand what they truly value.

Decisions Before the Decision

DruGroup • 79 implied HN points • 23 Mar 22
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Before making a big decision, ask yourself five key questions: When do you need to decide, who should be involved, what are your options, where might your choices lead, and how will you respond to outcomes.
  2. Getting the right people in the room can help improve decision-making. Their different perspectives can highlight mistakes and open up better choices.
  3. Thinking through the potential results and responses to your decision can ensure you’re prepared for whatever happens next. It helps make the final choice clearer and gives you more confidence.

"Just Tell Me What To Do"

Living Fossils • 26 implied HN points • 13 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. Many people today feel overwhelmed by choices and just want someone to guide them. This need comes from the stress of having to make so many decisions in life.
  2. Science provides clear and accurate answers but often lacks comforting explanations for big life questions. This can leave people feeling lost and spiritually empty.
  3. We’re seeing a shift in how society shares values and norms, leading to individualism. This makes it hard for people to know the right choices, causing them to seek external guidance.

The Rogue Patient

ariakerstein • 3 HN points • 14 May 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Decision-making
  1. Navigating hard medical conditions requires intelligent and active patient engagement to achieve optimal outcomes.
  2. Making big medical decisions involves timeboxing decisions, gathering relevant information, and balancing reason with emotion.
  3. Being proactive and involved in treatment decisions can help avoid unnecessary treatments, minimize damage, and reduce suffering for the patient and their family.

Practical Advice for a Better You

Anima Mundi • 20 implied HN points • 28 Dec 24
🚌 Education Decision-making
  1. When making a decision, find one strong reason for it. If you can’t identify a solid reason, reconsider your choice.
  2. Focusing on one task at a time leads to better results than multitasking. It reduces stress and improves the quality of your work.
  3. Look for people who show potential and the ability to learn quickly rather than just those with experience. They can surprise you with their growth.

The Paradox of Choice

Integrity Talk • 99 implied HN points • 29 Mar 23
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. Personal goals have evolved along with societal changes and technologies.
  2. Despite a wide array of choices, human motives for pursuing goals remain consistent over time.
  3. Excessive choices can lead to difficulty in decision-making and a tendency to prioritize social desirability over personal values.

What I wish I knew earlier

JR’s Newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 01 Jan 25
🚌 Education Decision-making
  1. Being passive can hurt you. It's better to take action and ask questions than to sit back and miss opportunities.
  2. Focusing on what you love is key. Don't just follow what everyone else is doing; dive deep into your passions instead.
  3. Success matters, but balance is important. Make sure your career, health, and family don't suffer for the sake of ambition.

4 reasons why PMs and UXR should understand business strategy

Askwhy: UX Research, Product Management, Design & Careers • 50 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Understanding business strategy helps drive alignment and focus, ensuring products contribute to company goals and avoiding feature creep.
  2. Knowing consumer trends, markets, and competitive landscape aids in developing relevant products and making informed decisions to stay competitive.
  3. Engaging with business strategy leads to better decision-making through frameworks like second-order thinking and inversion, fostering alignment within the organization.

📏 When machines start calling the shots

Reboot • 5 implied HN points • 20 Aug 25
🎾 Sports Decision-making
  1. Tennis is moving to electronic line calling, which uses computers for making calls instead of humans. This could change how games are played, as players won't have human judges anymore.
  2. Human judges add a personal touch to games by enforcing rules based on their own experiences. With machines making calls, something important might be lost in terms of fairness and connection.
  3. Machines can make mistakes too, even if they are often called more accurate than humans. Trusting technology completely has its risks, especially when it comes to close calls in sports.

When to Use Forecasting for Decisions

Abstraction • 19 implied HN points • 13 Dec 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. It's not always worth it to forecast when making decisions. Sometimes it's better to prepare for the worst or trust experts who know what they're doing.
  2. For less important choices, you can follow proven rules or experts. This makes decision-making easier and saves time.
  3. When facing big decisions, like moving cities, it's smart to gather data to guide your choice. Using information about others’ experiences can help you make better decisions.