Better Decisions Faster
Unshakable Confidence When You Need It Most
The motivational leadership book Better Decisions Faster delivers advice for getting ahead in the business world.
Sports executive Paul Epstein’s inspirational business book Better Decisions Faster nurtures confidence in one’s decision-making.
Here, achieving one’s goals requires using the head and the heart, as well as a certain authenticity when it comes to taking action. The book outlines methods for making quick, but still considered, decisions that reflect one’s values and priorities. It covers topics including strategies, deals, and investments, making it a practical guidebook for effective decision-making.
Conversational and organized like an actionable blueprint, the book moves between broad concepts, as with its guiding head, heart, and hands concept, and specific methods for personal achievement based on decision-shaping personal qualities like grit, curiosity, and impact. It is encouraging throughout, praising its unknown audience and modeling positivity; the last chapter opens with the peppy declaration “you made it,” suggesting that reading itself is the first step toward success.
The book notes that most adults have to make thousands of choices every day. It’s a daunting prospect, but also one that Epstein addresses with supporting evidence and context, including references to Fortune 500 CEOs, Ivy League professors, Olympic athletes, and film and television stars. Quotes from business leaders mix with familiar aphorisms from Albert Einstein and Confucius, used to complement Epstein’s ideas.
With its direct approach and plain language, the book does an able job of communicating its messages. Still, its delivery becomes gimmicky, making generous use of turns of phrase like “green-light lifestyle,” “heart gaps,” and “MVDs (most valuable decisions).” Even the title becomes a refrain, frequently used as a tool to attempt to drive home the book’s brand. Head, heart, and hands graphics recur every few pages, too. But these methods are too forceful and become wearying.
More useful are the book’s direct tools, as with its lists, self-help recommendations, and exercises, such as its summary of the “The 11 Must-Knows (and Must-Dos) of Better Decisions Faster” that includes a reminder of a central principle—that one’s head and heart should be aligned in decision-making. “Decision drill” exercises are interspersed throughout the book at regular intervals—a way to put Epstein’s teachings into practice early on and maximize engagement. There are also QR codes that link to materials or further study, as well as helpful bullet-point summaries and checklists of questions to ask oneself while making decisions too.
The motivational leadership book Better Decisions Faster delivers advice for getting ahead in the business world.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
