How to Choose

Hindsight bias is our tendency to look back at unpredictable events and think it was easily predictable. It is also called the ‘knew-it-all-along’ effect. The hindsight bias can have a negative influence on our decision-making, as part of what helps us make good decisions is realistically assessing the consequences of our decisions. This bias can lead to overconfidence in our prediction ability. T...

In this episode we explore the thinking problem known as 'availability bias'. Availability bias is the tendency to pay more attention to - and give more credence to - information that springs to mind quickly. KEY TAKEAWAYS Our memories are more fallible than many of us realise. For the vast majority of us, enduring episodic memories are only formed for events that have a strong impact on us. We al...

In this episode we explore the heuristic known as the anchoring bias and just like physical anchors, they weigh us down, and influence our decisions. Anchoring bias occurs when we rely too heavily on pre-existing information or the first piece of information (the anchor) when making a decision. This impairs our decision making and judgement in many ways. Sometimes inadvertently, and sometimes...

In Season 3 of How to Choose, we’re exploring the topic of thinking problems or biases that get in the way of making accurate judgements and good decisions. We'll look at eight common problems and suggest some ways that we can reduce (but sadly not eliminate!) the impact of these problems. KEY TAKEAWAYS You're probably not as rational as you'd like to think - but that's okay, that's how our brains...

Buying gifts for our loved ones can be a meaningful and gratifying experience. It can also generate unwanted stress and financial pressure. In this special Christmas episode, we offer a few suggestions to help you navigate the 'gift buying' season. KEY TAKEAWAYS Don't fixate on finding the perfect gift - perfectionism exacerbates your stress and sets everyone up for disappointment Establish parame...

In this episode we chat to former British Open squash champion, Anthony Ricketts, to learn about what decision making looked like for him as a professional athlete. We discuss the early decisions that set him on the pathway to success, the challenges of dealing with serious injuries, and the choices he faced as he tried to find a career after squash. KEY TAKEAWAYS Surrounding yourself with colleag...

In this episode we chat to Melodie Potts-Rosevear CEO of Teach For Australia, a not-for-profit organisation. We hear how she went from a small town in the US, where she was the first in her family to go to college, to eventually founding an organisation in a foreign country with the incredibly hard and worthy goal of ending education disadvantage in Australia. KEY TAKEAWAYS Sometimes we ignore pat...

In this episode we chat with Doug Braiden, the College Principal at Faith Lutheran College in Queensland's Lockyer Valley. Doug discusses his surprising change of career from police detective to high school teacher and reflects on the challenges and opportunities of decision making in both professions. KEY TAKEAWAYS Just because things have always been done a certain way, doesn't mean there isn't...

In this episode multimedia artist Kirra Cheers reflects on intuition in decision making, planning and how important talent is to success KEY TAKEAWAYS Being good at something isn't always enough to be successful, according to Kirra you need a certain level of obsession as well. It still pays to follow the advice to do something you're good at and enjoy, but perhaps before quitting your day job thi...

In this episode property investor Lachlan Vidler offers some useful tips on how to make investment decisions. KEY TAKEAWAYS Good decisions are informed by reliable data. Be wary of false confidence in areas where you don't have expertise (this is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect ). Also be wary of confirmation bias an extremely common cognitive flaw in which we are much more interested in inform...

In this episode we interview Allegra Spender an Australian politician and businesswoman who has been the member of parliament for Wentworth since 2022. She is the third generation of her family to sit in federal parliament, after her father and grandfather. Spender ran on a platform of action on climate change, political integrity, and gender equality.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Spender highlights the be...

In this episode we interview entrepreneur Alex Leech to understand more about how he turned his coffee addiction into a thriving business. KEY TAKEAWAYS Choice can be an evolution, it’s not always a clear crossroads, but can be incremental. When creating a business it may be helpful to take a hedge pruning approach (see Season 1 Episode 4 ) and allow for a natural path of growth and expansion. Pas...

In this episode we interview paramedic Jonno Holmes to understand more about how emergency workers make decisions under pressure. KEY TAKEAWAYS When trying to decide on a profession or change of career, it can be very valuable to consider what we want from a job - and this in turn requires good 'self-knowledge'. To build this self-awareness, pay attention to the things you enjoy. Do you prefer to...

In season 2, we cover the topic of decisions at work. We interview a range of fascinating guests with different professions who discuss how they chose their careers and what decision making looks like in their world. KEY TAKEAWAYS Decisions about work are challenging! We spend so much time at work! Various estimates suggest 13 years (between 90000 and 115000 hours) and about 15% of our life - or i...

In this episode we explore the implications of defaulting to a ‘right-wrong’ evaluation of decisions and choices. Time to stop and think - ‘Is your way of doing things the right way, or is it actually just one of many good ways?’ KEY TAKEAWAYS It’s easy to fall into the trap of judgmentalism. We find a good way of doing something, then look around and decide that our way is better than the way oth...

In this episode we look at making good habits that actually stick - and explore how good habits can free up time and energy for thinking and decision making. KEY TAKEAWAYS We make up to 35 000 decisions a day! Free up decision making space by automating the basic Good habits allow you to be lazy Make a Tiny Habit : Behaviour, Motivation, Ability, Prompt. To make an Atomic Habit you must make them...

In this episode we look at making the decision to stick it out, or cut your losses.   KEY TAKEAWAYS There is no right way when it comes to the choice of staying or going - the decision is always personal   Not deciding feels easy, but remember you are actually deciding to stay! What is the opportunity cost of staying (or going?) Ignore the sunk cost when making your decision We shou...

In this episode we look at non-urgent decisions, figuring out what’s important, and how to make time for it in our busy lives.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The ‘important but non-urgent’ quadrant AKA the magic quadrant!  Importance of delayed gratification for achieving goals Don’t commit your time on this big projects until you’ve considered your ‘why’ and your values Sticking to your goals with ‘big...

In this episode, we talk about how to manage urgent pressures and explore the distinction between urgent and important. KEY TAKEAWAYS We don’t need to try and optimise with every decision: Urgency is usually expressed as scarcity - a scarcity of time (‘I need this ASAP’) or a scarcity of resources (‘Hurry up, stocks are limited!’ We are hardwired to respond to scarcity/urgency - it helped our ance...

In this episode, we explore the problem of too many options - those situations where we become overwhelmed by the number of available choices. We answer the question: “Do I always need to optimise (i.e. find the best option) or is there another way?” KEY TAKEAWAYS We don’t need to try and optimise with every decision: A fixation on optimising can be paralysing (don’t be like Chidi from The Good Pl...

In this episode, we look at 'hedge pruning', or when you need to keep your options open, and just make small changes to your decisions. We also explore some of the research on the benefits of being a generalist and having a broad range of interests. KEY TAKEAWAYS Trying lots of things and staying adaptable can make us more successful. Modern work demands knowledge transfer: the ability to apply k...

Some people find it really difficult to stick with their decisions. But sometimes it’s important to ‘pick and stick’ with our choice - particularly because some goals can only be achieved by persistence and perseverance. KEY TAKEAWAYS Some professional goals can be reached by multiple pathways - but sometimes there's only one clear way to achieve a goal. Any goal that requires high levels of skill...

In this episode, we look at when it pays to think things through more deeply and some of the pitfalls of relying on your (or others’) non-expert intuition. We explore the Dunning-Kruger Effect and other theories about overestimating and underestimating our ability. KEY TAKEAWAYS ➢ Beginners (or the incompetent) tend to overestimate their ability and experts tend to underestimate their abilty...

In this episode, we explore the problem of analysis paralysis - where we overthink things and get stuck at the point of decision: and we see how it manifested in one famous Australian politician. We also look at how intuition, when used correctly, can be a great support to our decision making. KEY TAKEAWAYS Intuition = the way we translate our experience into action (Gary Klein) Intuition can help...

Introducing 'How to Choose' - a show that aims to help you make better decisions!