- The product of a knowledge worker’s job is decisions - Good decisions are supported by a lot of thinking - The number of decisions you make doesn’t matter—only how good they are - Schedule time to do nothing but think - You can’t make yourself think faster - For many organizations, the dominant message is to hurry up all the time - Speeding up often results in poor decisions, creating future problems - Delaying non-critical tasks doesn’t save time in the end - When under pressure, the quality of decision making plummets - Different perspectives gets missed - Edge cases get missed - Thinking ahead gets missed - You can make better decisions by reducing the pressure you’re under --- # Reference [[Farnam Street]]. [Your Thinking Rate Is Fixed](https://fs.blog/2021/03/thinking-rate-fixed/). > … managers put pressure on their subordinates through a range of methods. DeMarco lists the following examples: > - _“Turning the screws on delivery dates (aggressive scheduling)_ > - _Loading on extra work_ > - _Encouraging overtime_ > - _Getting angry when disappointed_ > - _Noting one subordinate’s extraordinary effort and praising it in the presence of others_ > - _Being severe about anything other than superb performance_ > - _Expecting great things of all your workers_ > - _Railing against any apparent waste of time_ > - _Setting an example yourself (with the boss laboring so mightily there is certainly no time for anyone else to goof off)_ > - _Creating incentives to encourage desired behavior or results.”_