Brain Snacks

Evidence-Based Decision-Making: Books

Books chosen by our experts; Summaries offered by Google’s GenAI Gemini

This book highlights the increasing use of statistics in various aspects of life. It uses examples like predicting wine quality and scouting athletes to show how data analysis is changing decision-making in business, academia, and even everyday life.

Source: Ayres, Ian (2008). Super Crunchers. John Murray. [Link]

“Lean Analytics” teaches entrepreneurs how to validate ideas, find customers, and build successful products through data-driven decision making, guiding them from initial concept to growth through case studies and expert insights.

Source: Crosll, Alistair and Benjamim Yoskovitz (2013). Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster. O’Reilly. [Link]

John Doerr’s book explains Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), a goal-setting system used by tech giants like Google and Intel to achieve growth. OKRs define clear objectives and measurable ways to achieve them, fostering focus, alignment, and transparency within an organization.

Source: Doerr, John (2018). Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs. Penguin Books [Link]

Tim Harford argues that good statistics, unlike bad research and misinformation, can tell truthful stories and help us understand the world around us. Through ten simple rules and one golden rule, the book teaches readers to critically evaluate claims presented through numbers.

Source: Harford, Tim (2020). How to Make the World Add Up: Ten Rules for Thinking Differently About Numbers. Little, Brown Book Group [Link]

AI removes traditional business growth limitations, as shown by companies like Airbnb and Amazon. This book explores how AI enables scaling, expanding into new industries, and making better predictions. It provides a framework for businesses to adapt and compete in the AI era.

Source: Iansiti, Marco and Karim R. Lakhani (2020). Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership when Algorithms and Networks Run the World. Harvard Business Review Press [Link]

Evidence-Based Decision-Making: Articles

Articles chosen by our experts; Summaries offered by Google’s GenAI Gemini

Source: Davenport, Thomas H. (2013), “Keep Up with Your Quants,” Harvard Business Review [Link]

This article offers advice on improving decision-making in organizations to drive innovation. It highlights the challenges faced by companies and proposes solutions based on research. They emphasize including diverse perspectives and making clear decision rights.

Source: Hill, A., Emily Tedards, and Taran Swan (2021), “Drive Innovation with Better Decision-Making,” Harvard Business Review [Link]