From back-to-school through the winter holidays, the busy retail selling season is also a time to forecast sales, set budgets, and plan for the coming year. Here are 12 new and time-tested books to help make informed choices.
Could Should Might Don’t: How We Think About the Future
Could Should Might Don’t
by Nick Foster
Thinking seriously about the future is a must for those who hope to shape it. This just-released book guides readers in going beyond the usual “lazy certainties and fearful fantasies” to imagine and create what comes next.
Distancing: How Great Leaders Reframe to Make Better Decisions
Distancing
by L. David Marquet and Michael A. Gillespie
Asserting that we are our own biggest obstacle to making wiser decisions, the authors, a former U.S. Navy Captain and a professor of psychology, provide practical self-coaching methods for changing perspectives.
The Missing Billionaires: A Guide to Better Financial Decisions
Missing Billionaires
by Victor Haghani, James White
There could be many more billionaires today if the wealthy families had made wiser investment and spending decisions. This Economist best book of the year in 2023 outlines a framework for optimal investing drawn from the authors’ extensive finance experience.
Start, Stay, or Leave: The Art of Decision-Making
Start, Stay, or Leave
by Trey Gowdy
Fox News host and former congressman Trey Gowdy shares with humor and practical advice the hard-earned lessons from great (and lousy) decisions that have shaped his life.
Probably Overthinking It
Probably Overthinking It
by Allen B. Downey
Statistics are everywhere, and so is the tendency to misinterpret them, with potentially disastrous consequences. Downey explains common statistical pitfalls, using copious illustrations, colorful storytelling, and clear prose.
Collective Illusions: Why We Make Bad Decisions
Collective Illusions
by Todd Rose
A feeling of belonging is a deep human need, but the desire to fit in can warp our perceptions and lead to decisions against our own best interest. Learn how to find clarity and authenticity from this national bestseller, named Amazon’s Best Book of the Year in Business, Leadership, and Science in 2022.
Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making Beyond the Numbers
Radical Uncertainty
by John Kay and Mervyn King
Some risks are easily quantified, but many are not from data alone. Two of Britain’s foremost economists explain strategies for resilience in facing the unknowable.
The Big Picture: How to Visualize Data to Make Better Decisions Faster
The Big Picture
by Steve Wexler
Understanding analytics is a crucial business skill; graphics alone can both enlighten and mislead. Wexler, who has taught and consulted for dozens of prominent organizations, distills his expertise into what one reviewer calls an “invaluable tool” for seeing patterns in data.
Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most
Farsighted
by Steven Johnson
A prolific bestselling author and television and podcast host reveals the powerful methods used by expert decision-makers to make once-in-a-lifetime choices.
Risk Savvy: How to Make Good Decisions
Risk Savvy
by Gerd Gigerenzer
Gigerenzer, who directs the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and is an expert on risk, argues that expert analyses are often flawed or misinterpreted. He advocates going with the gut in the face of uncertainty. Readers hail it as both wise and easy to read.
Left Brain, Right Stuff: How Leaders Make Winning Decisions
Left Brain, Right Stuff
by Phil Rosenzweig
For business leaders and entrepreneurs, decision-making in the real world entails not just thoughtful analysis but following it with strategic action. Reviewers say Rosenzweig “delivers an invaluable framework for making good and timely decisions,” and laud his “fascinating storytelling.”
Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition
Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
One of the most influential books in behavioral economics, Ariely’s groundbreaking bestseller uses compelling, real-world examples to demonstrate how people consistently make the same predictable mistakes, and how we can avoid these damaging patterns to make more rational decisions.