From Get Smarter by Seymour Schulich:

Making a decision is usually boils down to picking between two options; sell or keep, invest or save fund, go for the next degree or get a job, and many more examples. So, you have to answer a YES or NO.

Make two columns; in one column list all the goods and in the other list all the bads about your decision. Depending on your priorities give a weight from 0-10 to each of the listings, 0 for least important and 10 for most important. If the goods outweigh the bads at least twice as much, pick YES, or if the bads outweigh twice as much, pick NO. If it is too close to make a call, don’t make that decision now.

Example:

Do I continue with my PhD or not

Goods

Have the option to become a professor later on:5

Gives more credibility as a new graduate out of university: 5

Gain a good reference from the university: 4

Can join R & D departments: 2

Add another degree to my resume: 6

Start higher in the company hierarchy:5

Learn about RFIDs + Crypt Algorithms: 3

Goods Total: 30

Bads

My last 2 years would be wasted if drop out: 4

Postpone going for MBA degree: 6

Have less time for my startups for another 2 years: 5

Limit areas of business:3

Stay poor for another 2 years: 5

Bads Total: 23

Conclusion: I cannot make up my mind right now and need to take some time!

Derailers for leaders (Why CEO’s Fail by Doltich and Cairo)

1. Arrogance
2. Melodrama
3. Volatility
4. Excessive Caution
5. Habitual Distrust
6. Aloofness
7. Mischievousness
8. Eccentricity
9. Passive Resistance
10. Perfectionism
11. Eagerness to Please

From Get Smarter by Seymour Schulich, strongly recommended are:

• Read books at least half an hour every day
• Study financial history
• Never give options for free
• If you want to learn a second language, learn Mandarin!
• Money’s value falls 90 percent every 30 years

This is a very good, fast read, and I will publish more lessons from this valuable book.

• Success is about making wise decisions at all times.
• “Entrepreneurs have to be right 100% of times”, Bruce Firestone.
• How can one make wise decisions at all times??? or at least reduce errors???