The hottest Decision-making Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

What We Suffer For

Living Fossils • 19 implied HN points • 04 Dec 24
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. Writing can be a double-edged sword. It brings joy and purpose, but it can also take you away from real-life experiences.
  2. Many people accept suffering to fit in and maintain their identity. They often fear what they would become if they let go of that identity.
  3. People often endure pain to avoid loss. They may stick with unhappy jobs or relationships just to prevent the fear of losing something they have.

Finding your niche in the startup industry[Story Time Saturday]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 01 May 22
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. Develop products that stand out from the competition by focusing on unique features or solutions.
  2. Find a balance between high performance through focus and scalability by considering factors like resources and challenges.
  3. When deciding between powerful but expensive techniques and simple, inexpensive options, weigh the benefits of each to make an informed choice.

What Matters Most: How We Develop Conviction at Seed

Equal Ventures • 39 implied HN points • 14 Mar 22
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Developing conviction at seed stage involves looking beyond basic metrics and focusing on long-term potential.
  2. Key factors for investing include evaluating moat trajectory, proximity to product-market fit, and identifying catalysts for market entry.
  3. Team evaluation is crucial, prioritizing qualities like grit, decision-making, and founder-market fit over pedigree.

People don't want to think more than they have to

UX Psychology • 39 implied HN points • 04 Mar 22
🔬 Science Decision-making
  1. People prefer to take the path of least resistance and avoid thinking too much, unless necessary.
  2. The principle of least effort influences decision-making and problem-solving by favoring easier, quicker Type 1 thinking over more effortful Type 2 thinking.
  3. In UX design, creating seamless and effortless experiences that align with users' preferences for Type 1 thinking can enhance user satisfaction and engagement.

The Morality Paradox

Who is Robert Malone • 18 implied HN points • 30 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. High-agency people have the ability to shape their own lives and pursue their goals actively. They take control and create opportunities instead of just waiting for them.
  2. Being goal-oriented is important, but high-agency individuals also display qualities like resilience, discipline, and creativity. They aren't just about making plans; they push through challenges.
  3. While high-agency behaviors can lead to great achievements, they may also come with a lack of empathy or ethical considerations. It's crucial for these individuals to balance ambition with integrity.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

How to Make Big Life Decisions

David Spinks' Newsletter • 12 implied HN points • 26 Feb 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Decision-making
  1. Emotions are important when making big decisions, so it's good to let them flow and be expressed. This helps clear your mind and find calmness.
  2. Listening to the different parts of yourself can help you understand your fears and concerns. Acknowledging them can lead to a deeper insight into what you really want.
  3. Checking in with your heart and body when making a decision is crucial. If it feels right and brings calm, you’re likely on the right path.

#1: Varieties of the unknown

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 179 implied HN points • 06 Nov 19
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. There are different types of unknown situations we can face. It's important to recognize these differences because they affect how we make decisions.
  2. A common mistake is treating real uncertainty like risk, thinking we can predict outcomes when we really can't. Understanding this can help us better navigate complex situations.
  3. We need to find new ways to plan and react when faced with unknown outcomes, since these scenarios are becoming more common. Simply applying a risk mindset isn't enough.

Are you missing the window to influence your stakeholders?

CAUSL Effect • 19 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. It's important to understand that decisions happen over time, not just at deadlines. Stay engaged with your stakeholders to make sure you can influence their choices.
  2. To avoid wasting time, identify the minimum level of analysis needed to make a good decision. Don't chase perfection when it's not necessary.
  3. Remember that being a decision maker is hard. Our job is to provide insights when they're needed, so be timely to maximize your chance of influencing the outcome.

Preparing for Senior Level Leadership

DruGroup • 59 implied HN points • 02 Nov 21
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Senior leadership comes with a lot of pressure that can be hard to escape, so preparing to share some of that pressure can help ease the transition.
  2. Making decisions as a senior leader is different because you need to own the choices you make, so it's good to practice making decisions at lower levels and learning from the outcomes.
  3. Time management is crucial for senior leaders, so getting better at saying no and focusing on important tasks can help when you reach that level of leadership.

Why real change feels weird, unfamiliar and wrong

Thinking Out Loud • 31 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. Familiarity can hold us back from changing for the better, as what feels right and natural may not always be the most constructive choice.
  2. Stepping into new and unfamiliar territories can feel uncomfortable and even wrong, but it's often a sign of growth and progress.
  3. It's important to distinguish between just feeling unfamiliar, which can lead to positive change, and feeling actually bad, which should be avoided.

To build trust in complexity, offer small choices and fast feedback

amivora • 4 implied HN points • 09 Jul 25
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Giving users small choices helps them feel in control during complex processes. When people can make little decisions, they feel less overwhelmed.
  2. Fast feedback is important. When users get immediate responses to their choices, it makes them feel more at ease and engaged in the process.
  3. Building trust takes time, so it's good to guide users step by step. This way, they understand what’s happening and can feel more secure with new tools or services.

2. Vote with your feet

Insight Axis • 39 implied HN points • 27 Jul 21
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Consider how your environment influences your success and well-being. Changing your environment can improve your situation.
  2. If you find yourself in a role or organization that doesn't align with your qualities or needs, don't hesitate to leave. Find a better fit to thrive.
  3. Voting with your feet - leaving a situation that doesn't work for you - is a powerful way to take control of your life and find fulfillment. Don't feel obligated to stay and fix a broken system; prioritize your own well-being and success.

Signals

Venture Prose • 99 implied HN points • 16 Dec 19
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Detecting signals of success or failure from founders is crucial for making investment decisions.
  2. Introverted nature can be an asset in quickly spotting subtle signals and making informed choices.
  3. Simple observations can reveal important clues about founders and their potential for success, such as behaviors or communication styles.

Why "bias for action" is not good enough

The Caring Techie Newsletter • 11 implied HN points • 12 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. Having a 'bias for action' can be good, but it's not always the right approach. Sometimes, acting without enough thought can lead to bigger problems.
  2. In situations where you don't fully understand the problem, it might be better to wait and gather more information before jumping to conclusions.
  3. Instead of rushing into decisions, take a moment to think things through. Thoughtful action can help you make better choices.

Simulate the CEO

Messy Progress • 35 implied HN points • 02 May 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Large organizations have a single person who directs others like a CEO, with layers of managers in between.
  2. Middle managers 'simulate the CEO' to guide employees in the absence of direct CEO interaction.
  3. CEO simulation is crucial for roles like Product Managers to influence teams effectively.

6 Dynamic Ways ChatGPT Revolutionizes Product Management 🚀 and 50+ Product management prompts

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 37 implied HN points • 26 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. ChatGPT helps product managers streamline tasks, focus on strategy, and deliver innovative solutions.
  2. ChatGPT provides product managers with AI-generated insights to enhance decision-making.
  3. Integration of ChatGPT in product development process leads to creating innovative solutions and enhanced user experiences.

Your Only Limited Resource

DruGroup • 39 implied HN points • 03 Aug 21
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Time is the most valuable resource we all have, and it cannot be replaced or made more of. It's important to be intentional about how we spend it.
  2. The Opportunity Filter helps you decide which opportunities to take on and which to ignore. This way, you can manage your energy and time more effectively.
  3. There are different ways to handle opportunities: dodging unimportant ones, blessing others for their efforts, warning colleagues about risks, launching important projects, and owning responsibilities that truly matter.

Decision Making with External Data

Magis • 27 implied HN points • 04 Aug 23
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. The post discusses decision making using external data.
  2. The author spoke at Domino Data Lab's Rev4 Conference about the hedge fund industry's use of external data.
  3. Rev conference is focused on strategic data leaders and offers great talks.

#39: Remove the plow and hive

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 59 implied HN points • 29 Jul 20
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. It's important to understand risks properly by knowing all possible outcomes and their chances, instead of just labeling everything uncertain as risky.
  2. Taking small steps and learning from them is better than waiting to act. This helps you understand what's happening as things change.
  3. Being flexible and open to new opportunities is more helpful than trying to make everything super efficient. This way, you're ready when good chances come along.

Episode 17: Burkhard on Qt Embedded Systems

burkhardstubert • 39 implied HN points • 03 May 21
🕹 Technology Decision-making
  1. Qt LGPLv3 is good for many projects, and less than 25% of modules are under commercial licenses. This makes Qt accessible for many developers and companies.
  2. Effective decision making is important in projects. It involves knowing when to step back and let the expert handle specific decisions to keep the project on track.
  3. The Qt Company is acquiring other companies, like froglogic, to enhance their tools which will benefit developers. This shows a commitment to improving the software development process.

How to Get Lucky

polymathematics • 19 implied HN points • 10 Jun 22
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. To get lucky, you need to take more chances. The more you try, the better your odds of succeeding.
  2. Staying committed to your goals for a long time can increase your chances of luck.
  3. Being active and involved is better than just watching from the sidelines if you want to find success.

Collective Fallacy

Fish Food for Thought • 16 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Collective fallacies like groupthink can stifle innovation by leading to unanimous decisions driven by desire for group harmony.
  2. Social loafing in group settings reduces individual effort, hindering creativity and underutilizing diverse skills.
  3. Herd mentality can suppress creative ideas by promoting conformity to majority opinions, inhibiting risk-taking and diverse perspectives.

Walking On a Tightrope

Superfluid • 13 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. In the startup world, founders must balance irrationality and rationality for success. It's about believing in big ideas but also making data-driven decisions.
  2. As a startup evolves, founders need to shift from irrationality to rationality, showing a clear path to profitability.
  3. Recognizing when to embrace irrationality and when to be rational is key for successful founders. It's a valuable skill that can build trust and credibility.

Why rationality (almost) never wins

Random Minds by Katherine Brodsky • 4 implied HN points • 04 Mar 25
📖 Philosophy Decision-making
  1. People often make decisions based on emotions rather than facts. This shows that logic does not always win in arguments and discussions.
  2. Disinformation campaigns use emotional appeals to convince people, rather than relying on logical arguments. They aim to evoke strong feelings that can overshadow rational thinking.
  3. When emotions are triggered, parts of our brains responsible for logic can become less active, making it harder for us to think critically. This highlights the power of emotions in shaping our beliefs.

Your Brain is Wrong About Probability

The Palindrome • 2 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
🔬 Science Decision-making
  1. Our brains often misunderstand probability, leading us to make poor decisions. We think past events can change future outcomes, but each event is independent.
  2. In games like poker, winning one hand might be luck, but winning consistently is about skill and understanding the odds.
  3. Chasing losses, like believing you're 'due' for a win after losing, can lead to financial problems. It's important to recognize that bad luck doesn't influence future chances.

Think Like Executives

The Uncommon Executive • 1 HN point • 28 Mar 24
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Thinking like executives involves focusing on bigger picture problems and considering people and resources in decision-making.
  2. Prioritizing the company's interests over specific teams or individuals is crucial at an executive level.
  3. At the executive level, there are no fixed constraints to finding optimal solutions, and it's important to challenge assumptions and think outside the established norms.

Six thinking hats

A Bit Gamey • 13 implied HN points • 17 Dec 23
🚌 Education Decision-making
  1. The Six Thinking Hats method by Edward de Bono helps in problem solving by considering different perspectives.
  2. Each hat represents a specific viewpoint like emotions, caution, facts, optimism, creativity, and control.
  3. Using the Six Thinking Hats approach can lead to clearer thinking, innovative ideas, effective communication, and better decision-making.

#33: Preference uncertainty

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 39 implied HN points • 17 Jun 20
💼 Business Decision-making
  1. Making choices is easier when we clearly know what we prefer. When our preferences are uncertain, it becomes tough to decide on a course of action.
  2. Preference uncertainty happens when we don't know how to rank different outcomes or when we lack complete knowledge about them. This can make it hard to choose what to do.
  3. Businesses also face preference uncertainty, which affects their decision-making, especially when weighing options like safety versus profit or investing in new ideas versus sticking with what works.