Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions

BOOK REVIEW: Finally finished reading "Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions" (1999) by Gary A. Klein. Firstly, what made me read this book was that it is referred by Daniel Kahneman in his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow".<br /><br />This book is very different from other psychology books because, while most of them are based on cognitive psychology and scientifically tested in controlled labs, Klein is against all that and the contents are based on applied psychology and empirically observed in real-life settings (in particular, firefighting, military, nursing and chess games) and he even highlights the shortcomings of his extensive research. This is perhaps THE book to turn to when you want to learn about intuition, mental simulation, experiential learning and imagination.<br /><br />Shortcomings of the book? The contents can get too dry and detailed with his observations on his focus groups, and sometimes it describes too much of the observations that readers wouldn't know what to make out of it. Plus, it's hard to visualize his descriptions for a number of parts.

Gary Klein explains the recognition-primed decision model:<br />"The commanders’ secret was that their experience let them see a situation, even a non-routine one, as an example of a prototype, so they knew the typical course of action right away. Their experience let them identify a reasonable reaction as the first one they considered, so they did not bother thinking of others. They were not being perverse. They were being skillful. We now call this strategy recognition-primed decision making."<br />The recognition-primed model explains a lot of real world decision making and a bias toward action: You recognize a situation, iterate through courses of action (without formal analysis) until you hit the first workable option (this means you often don't have to iterate through a lot of options), since you're evaluating options one at a time for workability — you don't compare and contrast the advantages or disadvantages of the alternatives. Once you have the first workable option you identify its weaknesses and avoid them, making it stronger. Then you act.

I'm not really sure how to review this book - imagine you were put in a room and asked 'how do people make decisions' for both crisis situations or planned situations. I would hazard to guess that you would be able to come to the same conclusions much the same way as this book.<br /><br />Feeling eerily like common sense, this long study (funded by the Dept. of Defense) makes such propositions that experience plays an important role in crisis decisions....etc. etc.<br /><br />I really learned nothing from this book and I'm not quite sure why it was written. The case studies are the most interesting part - from firefighting to missile attacks (seeing the military aspect here??).<br /><br />If you think it will shed some light on how your brain works in decision processes - skip it.

This is a book very much along the lines of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell but in my opinion it dives deeper into the understanding of how people actually make decisions. Gladwell's book is certainly very interesting and highly recommended but this book is probably for those that wish to take the next step in their understanding of the decision process.<br /><br />The book is easy to read and very engaging. It provides real world examples of how good and bad decision were made and the processes behind these. It shows how people that make decisions under extreme stress and time constraints do so based not only on their experiences but by using other techniques to cope with the situation faced. It demonstrates how intuition and simulation play a key role in effective decision making processes and how important non-linear thinking can be.<br /><br />If you are at all interested in the process of decision making and how experienced people are able to make good decisions under pressure then this book is for you. If you are looking for a deeper treatment of the concepts and examination of decision making, beyond books like Blink, then this certainly is the book for you. It is probably not a book that you can completely digest in on reading. I believe, like most good reference books, it is something that you need to revisit on a regular basis as your experiences grow. It should then start help you filling in the pieces as to the decision making process.<br /><br />An excellent read and something that should be added to the shelf of anyone looking to understand and make better decisions.

<b>Sources of Power</b> is the kind of work that should be required reading for anyone who has to deal with people on a daily basis. Since almost all of us deal with people making decisions daily, that means almost all of us should read this book.<br /><br />Klein explores the various methods we use to make decisions when we have both expert and non-expert knowledge in a particular field. Along the way, he addresses group thinking processes, communicating intent effectively, and other cognitive findings while brilliantly illustrating them with "stories" culled directly from his experience with firefighters, military commanders, and other high-risk professions.

This is a valuable book on how and why people make decisions. I really liked the book. There are a plethora of stories illustrating decision making processes in a variety of field. Dr. Klein does an excellent job of breaking down these stories and explaining what is really going on. I genuinely feel I have a better understanding of decision making after reading this book. So, why did I give it three stars? The book is too long. Every subsequent chapter builds on the previous chapter, but the value added seems to diminish as you go on.<br /><br />Worth reading.

The result of years of research about decision making. Spoiler: we rarely compare alternative paths of action. Instead, we seize on something we think will work, then evaluate that. If we decide it's unworkable, then we move on to the next obvious option, and down the list.

Possibly my new favorite book of all time. This is a must-read for anyone interested in professional development. Of particular interest is the concept of “expert learning” that enables the development of intuition. Also, while analytical processes of decision-making have a place in growing leaders, these should be viewed skeptically, especially when touted as the panacea for all decision-making ills. Based on extensive scientific research, Gary Klein has given us a classic that belongs on every leader’s bookshelf.

If you like the book Thinking Fast and Slow, this book will show decision making from a completely different context.<br />Klein does a masterful job of showing how intuition and experience can also be great contexts for decision making.

Excellent book. Don't get hung up on the title. Understand the value of experience and trusting your gut.<br />