I have summarized my 30-year experience as a business executive and professor of business in a book on business decision making on the basis of my professional experience and academic research.
Rather than approaching this topic from an academic or a theoretical point of view, I have described a series of real-life business events that most executives encounter during their professional career. These events are written in form of “vignettes”—scripts, or sketch stories that illustrate the problem the executive (me or some of my colleagues in this case) faced, what was the decision that ensued, and the business consequences that followed (lessons learned).
Each chapter contains some vignettes in form of anecdotal events that emphasize the decision-making process taking place, and lessons learned that ensued. This is not a book on theory or techniques—it is more a hands-on description of what happens when one encounters various “common” challenging business situations involving customers, employees, bankers, and so forth.
I wrote this book over a period of about 3 years, hesitating to publish it because it relates to real-life events. Once modified to protect the “guilty,” its material could be shared with others.
Keywords
business decision making, knowledge transfer, rules of thumb, business management, entrepreneurship