Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

by Chip Heath

After listening to the irate customer, applicants are asked: “Are you sure you will be able to tolerate on a daily basis assisting customers who are rude, frustrated, or confused?” On subsequent pages, applicants are warned about the difficult IT system; the stringent “on-time” policy; the requirement to work overtime and holidays; the discomfort of sharing a desk with people who work other shifts (which means they won’t be able to hang photos or otherwise humanize their work space); and the need to find a reliable way to get to work other than public transportation, since they will frequently work after the city buses have shut down. Relative to any normal hiring process, this is a serious buzz kill. It’s like a guy kicking off a first date by declaring, “I should tell you up front that I’m broke and depressed; my belly roll strongly suggests a future as a diabetic; and, like an infant, my moods tend to vary directly with my digestion. Shall we head out to dinner?”