The Art of Choosing(2011)

Decision making is an essential leadership skill. Many times, our decisions are about making choices. In The Art of Choosing, Sheena Iyengar discusses why we need to choose, how to make a choice, and what could be the options. In this blog, I highlight several thought-provoking ideas.

More choices are not always better.  Although we feel empowered when making choices, it's not always good to make a choice nor having too many options. When you don't have the knowledge to make the proper decision, asking someone you trust or respect to make choices for you could be better. When confused by an overwhelmed number of options, you can group options together to simplify the decision. When frustrated by the negative impacts of all choices, you can simply say NO to make no decision at all. It's essential to control our desire to choose. Before making a choice, asking questions like, "Do I need to choose? " and "Are these options look the same to me?"

We can systematically make a better choice. When a problem is complicated, we can divide options into different levels, which then allows us to make decisions one level at a time. We can also make the options comparable before making any choice.​

New options could be available. We can create new possibilities as long as we can viewing the problem from a broader perspective. When people ask you to choose between A and B, you can bring C as a new option and accepted it as your decision. Keep your mind open.

​​Learning the art of making a wise choice is essential for both professional and personal life. ​

Reference 

1. Iyengar's TED talk in 2005 with the same title was a well-received talk with more than 3.5 million views.
2. ​Barry Schwartz's TED talk in 2005, "The Paradox of Choice" is related to this topic and worth watching. This TED talk so far has more than 13 million views. 
3. Additional Recommendations from UT Library