The Confident Decision Maker By Roger Dawson

A guide to decision making at work and at home provides a formula for making decisions in such areas as buying a home or embarking on a hostile takeover of another company.

Successful decision-making is not a talent but a "learned skill" composed of "concentrated thought" and "rapid reasoning powers," claims business consultant Dawson, author of the audiotape series Secrets of Power Negotiating. His predictable formula for reaching the best decisions and solutions combines analysis, synthesis and judgment and requires developing a sense of timing and ability to handle uncertainty and elements of risk. Using charts, self-evaluation tests and examples of both good and bad decisions, Dawson emphasizes setting goals and priorities, assembling essential data and evaluating alternate solutions--all of which are summarized in a 21-day-plan.