Risk Savvy: How to Make Good Decisions

by Gerd Gigerenzer

Defensive Decision Making Many a committee meeting ends with “We need more data.” Everybody nods, breathing a sigh of relief, happy that the decision has been deferred. A week or so later, when the data are in, the group is no further ahead. Everyone’s time is wasted on another meeting, on waiting for even more data. The culprit is a negative error culture, in which everyone lacks the courage to make a decision for which they may be punished. Not making a decision or procrastinating in order to avoid responsibility is the most blatant form of defensive decision making. If something goes wrong, somebody else made the decision. But there are more subtle and intelligent ways of avoiding responsibility. Fear of litigation and accountability has developed defensive decision making into an art. It’s the modern art of self-defense at the cost of the company, the taxpayer, or the patient.