#28 Michael Mauboussin: A Decision Making Jedi

Michael Mauboussin returns for a fascinating encore interview on the Knowledge Project. We geek out on decision making, luck vs. skill, work life balance, and so much more.

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Michael Mauboussin is back as a returning guest on the Knowledge Project!

He was actually the very first guest on the podcast when it was still very much an experiment. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to continue with the show. (If you missed his last interview, you can listen to it here, or if you’re a member of The Learning Community, you can download a transcript.)

Michael is one of my very favorite people to talk to, and I couldn’t wait to pick up right where we left off.

In this interview, Michael and I dive deep into some of the topics we care most about here at Farnam Street, including:

• The concept of “base rates” and how they can help us make far better decisions and avoid the pain and consequences of making poor choices.
• How to know where you land on the luck/skill continuum and why it matters
• Michael’s advice on creating a systematic decision-making process in your organization to improve outcomes.
• The two most important elements of any decision-making process
• How to train your intuition to be one of your most powerful assets instead of a dangerous liability
• The three tests Michael uses in his company to determine the health and financial stability of his environment
• Why “algorithm aversion” is creating such headaches in many organizations and how to help your teams overcome it, so you can make more rapid progress
• The most impactful books that he’s read since we last spoke, is reading habits, and the strategies he uses to get the most of every book
• The importance of sleep in Michael's’ life to make sure his body and mind are running at peak efficiency
• His greatest failures and what he learned from them
• How Michael and his wife raised their kids and the unique parenting style they adopted
• How Michael defines happiness and the decisions he makes to maximize the joy in his life

Any one of those insights alone is worth a listen, so I think you’re really going to enjoy this interview.

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