Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking -- Malcolm Gladwell


Blink: This is classic Malcolm Gladwell. As a strategist, I’m interested in the perils of analysis paralysis and other foibles associated with looking at a problem too hard. The best parts of this book are the studies he references. Particularly the two involving Jam (ranking the taste and purchasing). The conclusions drawn from these and other studies are interesting but amateurish and often tenuous. My biggest disappointment is with the non-conclusiveness of the overall thesis. Gladwell promised a framework in the first chapter that would help the reader decide when a blink decision would be better than a drawn-out one. He basically concludes blinking is good when it helps and bad when it doesn’t… thanks! Still, overall, it’s worth the read.
Verdict: Would recommend with a grain of salt

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