A practical guide to making better decisions in all aspects of life, based on extensive research and a wide range of historic and current examples.Combining clearly communicated research-based principles, a wealth of practical advice, and dozens of historic and contemporary examples of decision making (good and bad), Patrick Gould's Prudent Decision Making in an Imprudent World: Better Decisions at Home and Work gives readers a fresh new way to look at the way we make choices.What makes Gould's book both authoritative and compelling is its distinctive foundation-prospect theory-derived from Amos Tversky and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman's landmark research on "neuro-economic" decision making. Through the prism of prospect theory-which explains why people make conservative decisions in some instances and reckless decisions in others-Gould provides practical pathways to sound, timely judgments about relationships, family matters, careers, finances, and more. Time and again, throughout this concise but richly rewarding book, Gould demonstrates that understanding how and why people make choices is the first step toward making the best possible choices for ourselves.

Provides dozens of features on historic events affected by bad decision making, such as the 1929 stock market crash, the Challenger disaster, and the implosion of Enron

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Prudent Decision Maker Living Among Irrational Conservatives2. Prudent Decision Makers Seek a Balanced Perspective3. Prudent Decision Makers Are Self-disciplined4. Prudent Decision Makers Are Not All Former Valedictorians5. Prudent Decision Makers Are Students of History6. Prudent Decision Makers Never Violate the Principle of Security7. Prudent Decision Makers Are Cultural Contrarians8. Prudent Decision Makers Seek Informational Clarity and Relevance9. Prudent Decision Makers Never Sweat the Small Stuff10. Prudent Decision Makers Possess Humility and Temperance11. Prudent Decision Makers Understand That No Decision Is Still a Decision12. Prudent Decision Makers Are Creative13. Prudent Decision Making in Education14. Prudent Decision Makers Know That While Money Does Not Buy Happiness, Neither Does Happiness Buy Money15. Prudent Decision Makers Learn the Cost of Every Free Lunch16. Semper Paratus: The Always-Ready, Financially Prudent Decision Maker17. Prudent Decision Makers Are Epistemological OptimistsNotesIndex