The Power of Decision


Book Description

Introducing the first book in a powerful new series, The Tarcher Master Mind Editions: Essential Books of Inspiration, Instruction, and Motivation. What mind can conceive, man can achieve. Our decisions impact every area of our lives. Making better decisions means living a better life. But how can we develop the habit of making great decisions? Every noteworthy achievement the world has ever seen was born with a single thought; and every great man who ever lived has been a man of decision. Raymond Charles Barker's The Power of Decision reveals this principle of success and illustrates the process of choice that all of us must take-and that all of us are capable, this very second, of taking-to change our lives and make our dreams come true. Indecisive people are failure prone, and Dr. Barker examines this basic truth while exploring the decision-making process in the individual, and the role of the subconscious mind in either abetting or thwarting each of our conscious decisions. He provides specific steps to shift the balance of decision-making power in your favor, and he brings to light the constant, ever-present power of will to change a situation- and yourself-for the better. Picking up The Power of Decision is the moment; and reading it is the decision that will change your life forever.




Decision Power


Book Description

Whatever it is that you need to be happy and successful--from a perfect spouse to a satisfying job, the home of your dreams, or complete self-confidence--here's an astonishingly easy and effective way to achieve your goals. Decision Power is the first guide to show you how to balance thought and feeling--the mind and the heart--to make sound decisions that also satisfy your most deep-seated desires. Its tested approaches and practical tools enable you to: evaluate every decision so that you clearly define the problem and address the real issues; develop feasible alternatives that all reflect your goals and values; make tradeoffs you can live with when you have to choose between two or more goals pulling you in different directions; overcome doubts, setbacks, or obstacles that at first appear overwhelming; trust yourself to make the right choice and gain support from family and friends for your decisions. You'll find 12 proven decision-making methods in all, that work in concert to help you access your feelings ... sharpen your problem-solving skills ... and increase your resourcefulness, inner strength, and confidence. Presented in the form of a checklist, this unique tool allows you to "test" a decision before it's implemented ... refine or revise it if you're not totally satisfied, or if new information or events change the picture. By following the step-by-step approach laid out in Decision Power, you'll never again follow a course of action that seems well-thought-out but fails to meet your underlying needs.




The Power of Experiments


Book Description

How tech companies like Google, Airbnb, StubHub, and Facebook learn from experiments in our data-driven world—an excellent primer on experimental and behavioral economics Have you logged into Facebook recently? Searched for something on Google? Chosen a movie on Netflix? If so, you've probably been an unwitting participant in a variety of experiments—also known as randomized controlled trials—designed to test the impact of different online experiences. Once an esoteric tool for academic research, the randomized controlled trial has gone mainstream. No tech company worth its salt (or its share price) would dare make major changes to its platform without first running experiments to understand how they would influence user behavior. In this book, Michael Luca and Max Bazerman explain the importance of experiments for decision making in a data-driven world. Luca and Bazerman describe the central role experiments play in the tech sector, drawing lessons and best practices from the experiences of such companies as StubHub, Alibaba, and Uber. Successful experiments can save companies money—eBay, for example, discovered how to cut $50 million from its yearly advertising budget—or bring to light something previously ignored, as when Airbnb was forced to confront rampant discrimination by its hosts. Moving beyond tech, Luca and Bazerman consider experimenting for the social good—different ways that governments are using experiments to influence or “nudge” behavior ranging from voter apathy to school absenteeism. Experiments, they argue, are part of any leader's toolkit. With this book, readers can become part of “the experimental revolution.”




Sources of Power


Book Description

An overview of naturalistic decision making, which views people as inherently skilled and experienced.




Decision Making Applications in Modern Power Systems


Book Description

Decision Making Applications in Modern Power Systems presents an enhanced decision-making framework for power systems. Designed as an introduction to enhanced electricity system analysis using decision-making tools, it provides an overview of the different elements, levels and actors involved within an integrated framework for decision-making in the power sector. In addition, it presents a state-of-play on current energy systems, strategies, alternatives, viewpoints and priorities in support of decision-making in the electric power sector, including discussions of energy storage and smart grids. As a practical training guide on theoretical developments and the application of advanced methods for practical electrical energy engineering problems, this reference is ideal for use in establishing medium-term and long-term strategic plans for the electric power and energy sectors. - Provides panoramic coverage of state-of-the-art energy systems, strategies and priorities in support of electrical power decision-making - Introduces innovative research outcomes, programs, algorithms and approaches to address challenges in understanding, creating and managing complex techno-socio-economic engineering systems - Includes practical training on theoretical developments and the application of advanced methods for realistic electrical energy engineering problems




Decision Quality


Book Description

Add value with every decision using a simple yet powerful framework Few things are as valuable in business, and in life, as the ability to make good decisions. Can you imagine how much more rewarding your life and your business would be if every decision you made were the best it could be? Decision Quality empowers you to make the best possible choice and get more of what you truly want from every decision. Dr. Carl Spetzler is a leader in the field of decision science and has worked with organizations across industries to improve their decision-making capabilities. He and his co-authors, all experienced consultants and educators in this field, show you how to frame a problem or opportunity, create a set of attractive alternatives, identify relevant uncertain information, clarify the values that are important in the decision, apply tools of analysis, and develop buy-in among stakeholders. Their straightforward approach is elegantly simple, yet practical and powerful. It can be applied to all types of decisions. Our business and our personal lives are marked by a stream of decisions. Some are small. Some are large. Some are life-altering or strategic. How well we make those decisions truly matters. This book gives you a framework and thinking tools that will help you to improve the odds of getting more of what you value from every choice. You will learn: The six requirements for decision quality, and how to apply them The difference between a good decision and a good outcome Why a decision can only be as good as the best of the available alternatives Methods for making both "significant" and strategic decisions The mental traps that undermine decision quality and how to avoid them How to deal with uncertainty—a factor in every important choice How to judge the quality of a decision at the time you're making it How organizations have benefited from building quality into their decisions. Many people are satisfied with 'good enough' when making important decisions. This book provides a method that will take you and your co-workers beyond 'good enough' to true Decision Quality.




Decision Support Systems


Book Description

For MIS specialists and non-specialists alike, this text is a comprehensive, readable, understandable guide to the concepts and applications of decision support systems.




You Decide


Book Description

We all have a different life, and yet we all are common. In the end, we all are humans, and we all make decisions. But some amongst us are more successful than others. What's the difference? How come some people get more success than others? Do our decisions affects us? Well, those are some weighty questions, but they all have answers to them. Your decisions have the power to pave the path of your life. Your decision affects each moment of your life as you are making some kind of decision every second. But do you know how you are making decisions every second? This book will help you understand the power of decision making and how your decisions affect your life. It will help you understand how you can make more mindful choices. Whether you are already great at decision making or you won't become great at it. This book will help you because the domain of decisions is endless.




Community Power Structure


Book Description

In this study of busy, complex Regional City -- and it is a real city -- the author has analyzed the power structure from top to bottom. He has searched out the men of power and, under fictitious names, has described them as they initiate policies in their offices, their homes, their clubs. They form a small, stable group at the top of the social structure. Their decision-making activities are not known to the public, but they are responsible for whatever is done, or not done, in their community. Beneath this top policy group is a clearly marked social stratification, through which decisions sift down to the substructures chosen to put them into effect. The dynamic relations within the power structure are made clear in charts, but the real interest lies in the author's report of what people themselves say. The African American community is also studied, with its own power structure and its own complicated relations with the large community. The method of study is fully described in an Appendix. The book should be of particular value to sociologists, political scientists, city-planning executives, Community Council members, social workers, teachers, and research workers in related fields. As a vigorous and readable presentation of facts, it should appeal to the reader who would like to know how his/her own community is run. Community Power Structure is not an expose. It is a description and discussion of a social phenomenon as it occured. It is based on sound field research, including personal observation and interviews by the author.




Decision Making Under Uncertainty in Electricity Markets


Book Description

Decision Making Under Uncertainty in Electricity Markets provides models and procedures to be used by electricity market agents to make informed decisions under uncertainty. These procedures rely on well established stochastic programming models, which make them efficient and robust. Particularly, these techniques allow electricity producers to derive offering strategies for the pool and contracting decisions in the futures market. Retailers use these techniques to derive selling prices to clients and energy procurement strategies through the pool, the futures market and bilateral contracting. Using the proposed models, consumers can derive the best energy procurement strategies using the available trading floors. The market operator can use the techniques proposed in this book to clear simultaneously energy and reserve markets promoting efficiency and equity. The techniques described in this book are of interest for professionals working on energy markets, and for graduate students in power engineering, applied mathematics, applied economics, and operations research.