
How to Decide Simple Tools for Making Better Choices
Reviews

Annie’s book was recommended to me on quite a few occasions. Upon hearing it in an a16z podcast and learning its status as the Greylock must-read for portfolio cos, I was convinced. In its conversational style, “How to Decide” is embedded with the usual share of key findings from psychology/behavioural economics/game theory studies. However, what sets it apart is the abundance of diagrams, exercises, checklists, that make the abstract concepts digestible and actionable, along with fictional examples that are entertaining yet realistic. The chapters are organized exceptionally—starting with common fallacies and biases, turning away to concrete frameworks, then tying it together by showing how decisions can be best made in teams. My main takeaways include (but is not limited to): spend less time worrying about what to eat for dinner, wear or watch on Netflix because it does not affect long-run happiness; hard & close decisions are actually easiest (because if both makes you happy the difference is tiny and you should just choose!); how payoffs and probabilities in decision trees and confidence intervals work; asking someone out is a “freeroll” as its outcome carries asymmetric upside compared to insignificant downside and can be repeated. I’ll definitely be revisiting + applying these frameworks to venture investing, career, and relationship decisions this year!

Not new under the sun, but a great workbook summary with ideas of how to practicalize statistical thinking











