Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most

Steven Johnson

September 4, 2018

Bringing together decades of research, Steven Johnson’s Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most uses compelling stories and social science insights to explore the sensibility and strategies that accompany difficult decision-making.Johnson explains how we can make the best choices when faced with high-stakes decisions. He outlines the concepts of “farsightedness” and “adaptive situation management” – two techniques for understanding and managing complex decision-making processes. He outlines two goals for making better decisions: “Successful decision-making is both practical, meaning that it produces desirable outcomes, and moral, meaning that it produces outcomes that are ethical.”Johnson examines various types of dilemmas, including how and why we deliberately avoid difficult decisions and why it can be hard to adapt to a changing environment. He uses lively examples throughout the book to illustrate how people have used farsighted approaches to deal with uncertainty, interruptions, and crises. He discusses the psychology of overconfidence, explores the relationship between information and decision-making, and examines the power of dissenting opinions.Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most offers readers a comprehensive introduction to the challenges of decision-making and the potential of farsighted approaches. It’s an essential read for anyone looking to make better long-term decisions in their own life, and it’s sure to provide valuable insights for anyone interested in decision-making in the broader contexts of business and public policy.