The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions

by Hasard Lee

something we call getting sucked into the soda straw. When that happens, the pilot will quickly lose sight of the big picture and be unable to see how their actions fit the larger system they’re operating within.

“There’s no problem so bad you can’t make it worse.”

Because it’s not stable, it requires constant maintenance, especially by those who could use their status to get by. The mission commander must be the first person to call themselves out, the pilot with the most experience must be willing to say they made a basic error, and the highest-ranking pilot must be willing to set the example to show that rank doesn’t shield mistakes.

An effects-based approach should start with the desired outcomes and work backward.

The key to maximizing our mental resources is to focus only on what we have control over, which is the next decision to make.

be aware of the stream of thoughts that continually passed through their minds. Their only goal was to objectively watch the thoughts and not get fixated on any of them.

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important,”

If they don’t in some way contribute to your long-term goals and aren’t something you’ll get penalized for failing to do, then they shouldn’t be a part of your task list.

never let yourself get more than 90 percent task saturated. You need bandwidth to see the big picture and prioritize the list of never-ending tasks.

when there are multiple seemingly equal choices, going with the riskiest viable option usually provides the greatest return in value.