The toughest calls managers have to make come in situations when they
have worked hard to gather the facts and have done the best analysis
they can, but they still don’t know what to do. Then judgment—a fusion
of thinking, feelings, experience, imagination, and character—becomes
critical. The author offers five practical questions to improve your
odds of making sound judgments: • What are the net, net consequences of
all my options? • What are my core obligations? • What will work in the
world as it is? • Who are we? • What can I live with? All five questions
must be answered, according to the author: “Each question is an
important voice in the centuries-long conversation about what counts as a
sound decision regarding a hard problem with high stakes for other
people.” If you work through these questions, you’ll know that you’ve
approached the problem in the right way—not just as a good manager but
as a thoughtful human being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]