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Matrix Decision Making 296

Posted by timothy from the just-like-tron dept.
Eli Singer writes "I'm writing to recommend The Power of the 2x2 Matrix , the best book on decision-making I've seen in a long time. The book presents 55 decision matrix models by some of the best minds out there including Stephen Covey ( 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ) and Geoffrey Moore (Crossing the Chasm). Although the book is primarily for business decision-making, the matrices really force you to think about your own personal and professional life." No bones about it, Singer is not a disinterested party: he helped with research that went into it. Read on for the rest of his review, below; there's also a link to a sample chapter of the book. (The Globe and Mail recently reviewed this book as well.)
The Power of the 2x2 Matrix
author Alex Lowy & Phil Hood
pages 320
publisher Jossey-Bass
rating 8
reviewer Eli Singer
ISBN 0787972924
summary Using 2x2 Thinking to solve business problems and make better decisions

I had the pleasure of working with the authors of this book for over a year as a research assistant. Over that time I came to deeply associate with the 2x2 Matrix approach to problem-solving, and believe it is one of the most novel, fun, and effective ways of understanding business and personal dilemmas.

The idea behind 2x2 Matrix problem solving is to simplify any dilemma you're experiencing to its two core, often competing, facets. For example, The Gartner Magic Quadrant evaluates a company's technology solution based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute. These two aspects are then placed on opposing axis of a grid and given hi/low extremes. This instantly generates four quadrants of distinctly different possible scenarios. In this case:

  • Niche Players - Low completeness of vision, low ability to execute
  • Visionaries - High completeness of vision, low ability to execute
  • Challengers - Low completeness of vision, high ability to execute
  • Leaders - High completeness of vision, high ability to execute

The authors, Alex Lowy and Phil Hood, have gone to great lengths to examine outstanding problem solving practices offering both an academic explanation of the theory behind 2x2 modeling, and a profile of 55 of the best decision models out there.

These 55 decision models, presented in short, clear summaries with illustrations and often technology-based case examples (drawn from IBM, Apple, HP, Borland, and the open source world) are the real gold in the book. The models range from highly business-oriented strategy, marketing, and employee-motivation frameworks, to personally oriented frameworks that help structure time, understand personality conflicts, improve leadership skills, and evaluate career transition opportunities.

Chapter 3 is devoted to what the authors call Archetypal Business Dilemmas. The dilemmas presented here speak vividly to the challenges being experienced right now by the open source community:

  • Head vs. Heart The toughest choices are between doing what makes sense, and what feels right.
  • Content vs. Process Content is the what, Process is the how. Success in most things requires mastery of both qualities.

Also, there are a host of technology gurus who have been interviewed and have matrices presented from their work: Charles Fine, author of Clockspeed; Watts Wacker, author of The Deviant's Advantage ; Hal Varian and Carl Shapiro, authors of Information Rules ; Paul Weifels and Geoffrey Moore, authors of Crossing the Chasm; and Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, authors of The Experience Economy.

It is almost impossible to read this book and not compulsively apply these exceptional models to personal life. At the moment I've been working with Stephen Covey's Urgency and Importance matrix.

For many of us, life is filled with tasks that are Urgent, leaving little time for more fundamental and long-term activities necessary for personal and professional development.The Time Management matrix explores two key dimensions, Importance and Urgency:

Importance. Things that are important are reflective of one's values and contribute to achieving higher-priority goals and personal mission. Importance is about results that matter.

Urgency. Urgent things require immediate attention. They tend to be visible, popular with others, and to act on us.

My cell-phone and inbox both feel highly Urgent, and I often answer my messages immediately, despite the fact that in most situations their Importance is questionable. I'm working at shifting away from a crisis-oriented instant response, which is in turn generating more free time to work on the things that are really important to me but don't necessarily jump in front of my face.

Without actually sitting down and plotting how I used my time during a week on the matrix, I would never have had to directly face the multitude of things I was sacrificing just to keep up with my trivial emails. It's the simplicity and clarity of 2x2 modeling that makes it a great tool for wrestling with dilemmas, and generating deep insights.

Most will find the book an easy and engaging read, especially the framework sections. The downside, if there is one, is the sheer volume of great frameworks. One can only absorb a few at a time and for this reason I'd recommend reading slowly, jumping from the table of contents right to parts that sound the most interesting.

You can purchase The Power of the 2x2 Matrix from bn.com; a sample chapter is available here. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews. To see your own review here, carefully read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
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Matrix Decision Making More

Matrix Decision Making

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  • Matrix Decision Making (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gentoo Fan ( 643403 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:01PM (#9689391) Homepage
    Red pill or blue pill?

    • Re:Matrix Decision Making (Score:5, Funny)

      by ALeavitt ( 636946 ) <aleavitt.gmail@com> on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:04PM (#9689427)
      Buy the boxed set for the extras, or remain secure in my knowledge that Revolutions will never enter my house?
    • Take them both to really fly!

    • Re:Matrix Decision Making (Score:5, Funny)

      by evenparity ( 569837 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:13PM (#9689564)
      Didn't you read the review?

      It's a 2x2 matrix decision making model, so you can take 1) No red pill/no blue pill, 2) Red pill only, 3)Blue pill only, or 4) Red and blue pill.

      • morpheus/neo (Score:5, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:26PM (#9689736)
        M- "So now you must make your choice. I can only show you the door. You must be the one to walk through it."
        N- "I asked you for your advice on which pill I should take, now instead of 2 choices I have 4. Are you messing with me? Or is this that 'new math' crap I heard about?"

        M- "Okay, I'll skip the mystic mentor method and go straight to Telling You What to Do (tm). What you REALLY need is more choices..."

        (an hour passes)

        N- "Okay, so I can either fly to Bogota and look for a bearded man selling mule rides near a banana stand, or I can call my cousin Mikey and ask him to think of a prime number, or I can tap my heels together three times..."

        M- "Damn, you're too stupid to get it aren't you. I guess you're not the One. Give me back my pills."

        N- "ha ha ha ha ha, I'll just sell them both, and screw you and your philosophical dilemmas. I don't need Ultimate Awareness, I've got UltimatePasswords.com"

      • Isn't that just called a Karnaugh map?

        • no (Score:3, Informative)

          by muyuubyou ( 621373 )
          Because you don't want to optimize the number of logic gates in a digital circuit scheme.

          This has nothing to do with that.
    • i thought it was WWND?

      "what would Neo Do?"

    • "You've got a descision to make, Neo. Save Morpheus, or save yourself."

    • Another Darn Matrix (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Alien54 ( 180860 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @05:35PM (#9691096) Journal
      Another darn internet personality test, this time with these dichotomies:

      Wacky vs Sober
      Rational vs Emotional
      Constructive vs Destructive
      Leader vs Follower

      As good as any I suppose, and maybe a bit more amusing.

      Of course, you can take the test at this link, if you feel so inclined, and have nothing better to do [brinkster.net].

      Personality types described as follows here [brinkster.net]

      All a good bit of entertainment. and better than some of the other stuff I've seen around [smile]

      Some example results:

      You are a WRCL--Wacky Rational Constructive Leader. This makes you a golden god. People gravitate to you, and you make them feel good. You are smart, charismatic, and interesting. You may be too sensitive to others reactions, especially criticism. Your self-opinion and mood depends greatly on those around you. You think fast and have a smart mouth, is a hoot to your friends and razorwire to your enemies. You hold a grudge like a brass ring. You crackle.

      Although you have a leader's personality, you often choose not to lead, as leaders stray too far from their audience. You probably weren't very popular in high school--the joke's on them! You may be a rock star.

      You are a WRDL--Wacky Rational Destructive Leader. This makes you an enemy of the state. You are charismatic and winning and a very dangerous enemy. You favor justice over compassion, and would almost rather see your opponent fail than you succeed. You impact the lives of those around you more than any other personality. People remember your name and respect you. You are a tremendous amount of fun to be around and astonishing to watch. You are generally abstinent in your habits, and you like things tidy and ordered.

      When picking teams, it is smartest for others to pick yours.

      You are a WRDF--Wacky Rational Destructive Follower. This makes you a hacker. Your thirst for knowledge can be damaging to your possessions--you like to take things apart, even if you then forget to put them back together. You demand respect and, no matter how much you are respected, seldom feel it is adequate. You are tenacious, and will stick to a task long after weaker minds have given it up.

      Socially, you are awkward, and get into arguments and make people uncomfortable. One recommends counting to ten, holding back comments unless warranted, and listening more than speaking. Still, your no-holds-barred approach to socialization can be strangely endearing, as long as you are funny and self-deprecating. You feel misunderstood, and you probably are.

      You are a WEDF--Wacky Emotional Destructive Follower. This makes you a menace to society, depending on how you channel your energies. You chew your fingers and have an addictive personality. Properly guided, you can be enormously productive--otherwise you run amok, stir up trouble, and generally have a hell of a good time.

      To your friends, you are a source of relentless entertainment. You often get into trouble, but you almost always find a way out. You are strangely popular and feed off others' energy. You live hard, seize the day, and although your more sober friends would like to see you settled down, you generally have fewer regrets and better memories than they do. Your tenet is that, at the end of the day, one regrets only what one didn't try. You are right. You could benefit from outside help in balancing your highs and lows. Or perhaps cutting back on the caffeine.

      You are an SEDF--Sober Emotional Destructive Follower. This makes you an evil genius. You are extremely focused and difficult to distract from your tasks. With luck, you have learned to channel your energies into improving your intellect, rather than destroying the weak and unsuspecting.

  • The first thing I need to decide (Score:3, Funny)

    by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:04PM (#9689428) Homepage Journal
    is whether to read this book or not.

  • The time honoured way (Score:4, Funny)

    by Quirk ( 36086 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:05PM (#9689437) Homepage Journal
    "... simplify any dilemma you're experiencing to its two core, often competing, facets..." then flip a coin.

    • exactly. (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Decision matrixes are for people who can't think critically.

      seeker: "Master, can you help me to be more decisive?"

      master: "Sure, here's how to decide anything. Make a 2x2 matrix and put your choices in it. Then choose the best answer."

      seeker: "Ok, I assigned the variables randomly because I couldn't decide where to put them... now, which one is the right choice?"

      master: "Uhhh.... I didn't realize you were a borderline intellectual functioner."

      There is no right answer. Heute die wilt. Do or do not. yadd

    • That is similar to my strategy:

      "Choose the option whose deadline has not been passed in the time you have spent deciding between the two."

      That's even easier and relieves me of worrying about whether I should have picked the other one.
  • You know that scene in the Matrix where Ted flails his arms about dodging bullets in slo-mo? Ever recreate that feeling by strategically going to the bathroom because you overheard something in the next cubicle suggesting your services might be volunteered?

  • Book download (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    You can download some more chapters than just the first one at http://www.2x2matrix.com/downloads/ [2x2matrix.com].

  • I Find The Self Help Books Useful (Score:4, Insightful)

    by dcocos ( 128532 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:07PM (#9689477)
    If I go to a company and I see "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "Who Moved My Cheese","The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" or "Managment for Dummies" on a desk I know that it is not a place I want to work. To me it is the same as seeing "SQL for Dummies" on a lead DBA's desk if you are that far along in your career you should be well beyond those books.
    • > "How to Win Friends and Influence People"

      Oh, I don't know. Carnegie's book said a lot of fairly harmless things, like "say thank-you to people", and "try to remember what things the other person is interested in".

      Of course, these techniques can be abused to attempt to manipulate people, and that's not so nice. But there's nothing wrong with generally being positive and trying to interact well with other folks you work with....
    • YES. This, like every other instance of management 13375P33X I've ever seen, is pseudo-intellectual blather by pseudo-educated people who lacked the brains and dedication to ever learn anything worth knowing. Good managers learn by common sense and OJT; those who think management can be condensed into buzzword-laden bestsellers are inevitably terrible at actually doing it.
      • "Common sense" and "OJT" are inherently intinctive and don't require reflection or self-evaluation in any kind of structured way.

        If you can suppress the gag reflex enough to get thru books like this there is often a kernel of an idea (that you may not even agree with) that makes you reconsider why you do what you do at work. And that can be helpful, especially to someone who isn't formally trained.
        • I agree that it should work that way. The problem is that, like many /.ers, I've observed that reading management books pretty much never leads to reflection or self-evaluation. Instead, it leads to horrible managers thinking they're good ones because they're stuffed with the latest buzzwords. Meanwhile, good managers -- who are reflective, self-evaluative people by nature -- just go on quietly doing their jobs.
      • While I agree that buzzword-laden bestsellers may not be helpful, I disagree with the sentiment you express by "Good managers learn by common sense and OJT". Your statement implies to me that you believe there's no way to teach management. *Every* skill can be factored into repeatable, trainiable, learnable units and best practices. Else we wouldn't have universities.

        I also understand that no amount of classroom learning is enough; actual experience is needed. But that experienec is much more immediat

        • Your statement implies to me that you believe there's no way to teach management.

          I do not deny that there may be some way to teach management in a way that would improve the way management is generally done. I do deny, however, that the way management is currently taught bears any resemblance to such a method.

          *Every* skill can be factored into repeatable, trainiable, learnable units and best practices.

          Certainly many skills can. I suspect that "every" is overstating the case.

          Else we wouldn't have u

    • Horse crap! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by wurp ( 51446 )
      I don't know much about HtWFaIP or WHMC, but Seven Habits is good stuff. Most books are focused on letting you do the same stuff you've been doing more efficiently. Seven Habits tells you to figure out better stuff to do, and some tips on how. You are deceiving yourself if you think you just naturally do a good job of ignoring what people tell you you must do and instead do the right thing. It is very helpful to have a book to remind you of why and how you should do the right thing, even if you already
      • By your argument, anyone with Design Patterns on their desk is a fool, because they should already know that stuff intuitively. That's true, to a degree - the stuff in Design Patterns should look very familiar. But you haven't spent the time weighing the pros & cons and communicating them clearly that Gamma et al have, and you need Design Patterns. If you think you don't, you probably need it more.

        Design Patterns is a reference book, if you use the above mentioned books as reference books then I'm pre
        • Personally, I find that what's in Design Patterns is intuitive. I shouldn't need a reference book. Being less than perfect, though, I do.

          I also find that it's intuitively obvious that I should delegate responsibility, not just work. Being less than perfect, sometimes I find myself convincing myself that I shouldn't, or arguing ineffectually with others about it. Having the reasons clearly laid out is a benefit.

          If you never find yourself doing the wrong things out of expedience or stupidity, more power
          • If you are using the HtWFaIP and WMMC as reference books. To me it equates with going to People magazine as an authority on history. I've read those books and Design Patterns as well, I'm not saying that there is nothing to be learned by reading those books but for them to be reference books for a manager puts me on edge. I've done plenty of wrong things and I never claimed perfection. But I don't find those books inspirational and well thought out, I find them cheesey, obivious and condesending.

            and by
    • When I see books like this on people's desks, I am thankful those people are working to become better at their jobs - a healthy sign the company is hiring good people. Reading is only one part of becoming better at what you do but it is an important part. This certainly applies to technology. You have to write code to be a good programmer but reading technical books will help make you a better one. Perhaps I am reading too much into your post but I don't understand how someone can categorically dismiss ma
    • Never critisize, condemn, or complain...

  • Turning off that cellphone (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ZeroGee ( 796304 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:08PM (#9689497)
    Quote:
    My cell-phone and inbox both feel highly Urgent, and I often answer my messages immediately, despite the fact that in most situations their Importance is questionable. I'm working at shifting away from a crisis-oriented instant response, which is in turn generating more free time to work on the things that are really important to me but don't necessarily jump in front of my face.

    I've recently stopped checking voicemails incessantly, and I feel strangely liberated as a result. I'm so used to being tied in to broadband at home and at the office, and 2.5G on the run, that it's nice to be blissfully unavailable once in a while. Whether I leave my cellphone at home, or prioritize my current activities higher than the interruption of the vibrating electronics, it's amazing how much more peaceful things can seem.
    • Whether I leave my cellphone at home, or prioritize my current activities higher than the interruption of the vibrating electronics
      What if your current activities involve vibrating electronics that aren't communications devices?
    • Thats why many of us decide not to get the celphone in the first place. Or why many who do keep it off unless placing a call. The minor convenience of the phone is far outweighed by its annoyance.
    • Yeah, I forgot my voicemail password to about the same effect. Just didn't bother getting it reset for about 3 months. I could look at the call log and get back to whomever I deemed actually had something useful to impart or a serious question to ask.

      The ability to let that which does not matter, truly slide.

  • Binary Thinking (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JoeWalsh ( 32530 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:09PM (#9689502)
    2x2 matrices are sometimes useful, but more often they just encourage us to limit the number of possibilities we consider. We're so prone to thinking in terms of binary choices anyway that what we need is something to help us see the multitude of possibilities rather than something that narrows the scope.

    • But other times, we need to cull our choices. I think this sort of idea works best when you have narrowed it down to a short list of choices.

    • Re:Binary Thinking (Score:2, Informative)

      by geirhe ( 587392 )
      2x2 matrices are sometimes useful, but more often they just encourage us to limit the number of possibilities we consider

      If you are looking for ways out, yes. That is something brainstorming techniques can help you with.

      If you have a problem choosing between available options, you are past the brain-storming stage. If the authors of this book advocate doing a form of triage on your options, I am all for it. All to many people in leading positions don't want to make decisions when they are small and man

      • "Engineer Type" maangers may live and breathe that stuff, but most engineers I encounter are very good at analyzing a problem, finding possible solutions, evaluating and implementing. In my experience it is the pseudoengineers (more often than not trained as scientists) who are very good at exploring options, but horrible at implementing solutions.
    • Dualism (binary thinking) is a core value of Western culture. So it will be very difficult for many of us to escape formulating our decision models into dual forms. Because of that, I'm not sure this model is inherently bad.

      By the way, Western culture also likes to build hierarchies, and atomize (break things down).

      Isn't it interesting that a business school book is encouraging INSIDE-the-box thinking, though?

    • I'm waiting for the tensor version...

  • Missing the point (Score:5, Insightful)

    by KDan ( 90353 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:09PM (#9689506) Homepage
    The goal of these decision matrices is not to actually make decisions, but to validate decisions - to get everyone to agree that the decision is the correct one, which is where most of the hard work lies in corporate decision-making. Generally there's plenty of people able to make the right decision, whether they be the local leader, an outside consultant, etc, without needing any gimmicks like "decision matrices". But getting everyone to agree on a decision and put their will behind it and implement it - boy, that takes all the shiny stuff you can muster.

    Daniel

  • Thank you, Space Ghost (Score:5, Funny)

    by GMFTatsujin ( 239569 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:09PM (#9689507) Homepage
    Fortunately, I have a highly complex mind that can reduce any machine to a simple yes or no answer.

    No!

  • Payoff matrices and game theory (Score:3, Interesting)

    by heyitsme ( 472683 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:10PM (#9689517) Homepage
    Using matrices for decision making is nothing new. For instance, take the elementary "pie game" :

    There is a pie

    Player 1 gets to cut the pie

    Player 2 chooses a piece.

    Assuming both of these players are rational (rationality = wanting the biggest piece), we can represent all possible outcomes of the game in a matrix. The payoff for Player 1 is always going to be 1-n, where n is the percentage of the pie he cut. Since this stupid example is a zero sum game, it is easy to see that Player 1 will always get the smaller of two pieces, making it not hard to conclude that the best cut is an equal, 50/50 cut.

    Obviously, the concept of payoff matrices can be extrapolated for more players and variables, but doing this quickly approached the limits of solving linear systems.

    derek

    • Assuming both of these players are rational (rationality = wanting the biggest piece)

      That is a big assumption, I suggest reading into chaos a little bit, and you will find that beyond very, very, very tiny examples that the players don't always act rationally.
      • People love to throw around the statement that the problem with game theory is that people aren't rational but usually the problem isn't as simple as that. Often when a player doesn't act rationally it is due to the fact that the term rational is ill defined or more specifically the axioms of rational choice are mischosen. What do I mean by this? Take an example. There is an axiom that if you take a rational choice from a payoff matrix and multiply all that values by some positive number then the choice

  • Must... not... resist... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Hard_Code ( 49548 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:11PM (#9689529)
    Hitchhiker: You heard of this thing, the 2x2 Matrix?
    Ted Stroehmann: Yeah, sure, 2x2 Matrix. Yeah, the decision making strategy.
    Hitchhiker: Yeah, this is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this: 1... by... 1... Matrix.
    Ted Stroehmann: Right. Yes. OK, alright. I see where you're going.
    Hitchhiker: Think about it. You walk into a book store, you see 2x2 Matrix sittin' there, there's 1x1 Matrix right beside it. Which one are you gonna pick, man?
    Ted Stroehmann: I would go for the 1x1.
    Hitchhiker: Bingo, man, bingo. 1x1 Matrix. And we guarantee just as good a workout as the 2x2 Matrix folk.
    Ted Stroehmann: You guarantee it? That's -- how do you do that?
    Hitchhiker: If you're not happy with the first 1x1 matrix, we're gonna send you an extra 1x1 matrix free. You see? That's it. That's our motto. That's where we're comin' from. That's from "A" to "B".
    Ted Stroehmann: That's right. That's -- that's good. That's good. Unless, of course, somebody comes up with 0x0. Then you're in trouble, huh?

  • I've seen this before... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jmrobinson ( 660094 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:11PM (#9689531)
    ...in a management book I've read. Employees all have willingness and ableness.

    Great employees are willing AND able
    Employees that need training are willing and not able
    Employees and need some attitude adjusting are not willing and able
    Employees that are about to get their asses fired are not willing and not able
    It is very interesting to see this type of matrixed used in other places.
    • Back in the day we referred to this as an AND circuit.

      01
      000
      101

      Sounds like a Very Original Book.
    • Let's reverse it for added realism.
      (My own situation at my former employer)

      Willing AND able : Me. Shitcanned.
      Willing and not able : No one they ever interviewed, but if they had, he would have been hired. Why? Because that's the kind of person they would hire, someone that doesn't have a clue.
      Not willing and able The other 20 or so monkeys they had repairing H(self-censored)'s iBooks. Having worked on iBooks for in some cases, just as long as I had, they still repaired less than 8 per shift, and complai

  • ok (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Now I see where our management team got their 'proactive' and 'synergy' and other buzzwords.

    Thank you VERY MUCH Stephen Covey...

  • Sounds like quantitative analysis of nonsense (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gpinzone ( 531794 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:13PM (#9689565) Homepage Journal
    Geez, you could make 2x2 matrixes of anything and make it sound like you're accomplishing something. How do you guard against backfitting a matrix to agree with a preferred solution? I didn't expect the review to give a complete understanding of this method, but I wish it were just a little more informative.

  • DPS... (Score:4, Funny)

    by mrdogi ( 82975 ) <<mrdogi> <at> <sbcglobal.net>> on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:15PM (#9689588) Homepage
    That is, Dead Poets Society.

    After reading the above blurb about putting it on a 2x2 grid, I had a strong image of Robin Williams at the board drawing graphs as the student read, then afterward saying 'excrement', or some such. I expect that in the case of this decision-making thing, it can actually make sense to use the method. For judging poetry, though, no.

    Also, I agree with the posts elsewhere- my first thought on the topic WAS the movies.

  • Link to the 1st chapter(in case it wasn't clear) (Score:3, Informative)

    by Tebriel ( 192168 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:15PM (#9689589)
    http://www.2x2matrix.com/downloads/chapter1.pdf

  • The Importance of Market Speak (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dykofone ( 787059 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:15PM (#9689592) Homepage
    I'm just a lowly engineer in a HUGE corporation, so I've always been skeptical and often frustrated with buzzword laden talk about proper decision making strategies and achieving optimum 'cinergy.'

    The truth is though, that once a corporation gets to a certain size, the more stuff like this becomes vital. And the only way a hard working engineer is ever going to be able to get his voice heard (or interpret what he is told) is to understand the processes and procedures that upper management uses.

    Books like this are invaluable if you want to be a succesful engineer in a corporate environment, because no matter how many times you yell at your boss "this just isn't logical!!!!" your message isn't going to get across unless you can speak their language. Being an engineer isn't about exclusively knowing the numbers and running the experiments (we generally call those people "scientists"), it's about organizing your resources and abilities in a way that the general public will believe and buy into.

    My biggest role models haven't been the cynical yet super intelligent underdogs, they've been the cynical yet super intelligent Senior engineers who got there knowing how to play the corporate BS for what it is. I say books like this should be required reading for any engineer who wants to be taken seriously in a corporation, and subsequently getting your inovative ideas across.

    • I would value a good manager with a technical background more than a good engineer with management background. I say leave the management to the managers, and make THEM learn the value of logic. That would leave the enigneers more free to USE that logic.

  • Scott Adams said it better (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tri0de ( 182282 ) <dpreynld@pacbell.net> on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:15PM (#9689593) Journal
    simple but effective boss matrix:

    Evil
    Harmless

    by
    Competent
    Incompetent

    Thus, if
    -Competent, Evil deal with by steering towards co workers,
    -if Incompetent Harmless, hang out with, senl lots of 'feel good' memos and cutsie emails,
    -if Incompetent Evil - HIDE
    -if Competent Harmless then upwardly delegate as much work as possible.

  • Just print the section below, and drop a quarter on it. Wherever it lands, voila! That's the answer. Could this be any easier?
    Maybe a 1x1 matrix test would be.

    NO YES

  • Completely invalid review (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mat catastrophe ( 105256 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:21PM (#9689674) Homepage
    I had the pleasure of working with the authors of this book for over a year as a research assistant.

    This admission does not allow you to review the book. This is kind of like letting a priest sell you a bible, or a politician tell you how great his party is doing. It's a little *too* close to conflict of interest.

  • Love vs. Fear Matrix (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gpinzone ( 531794 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:23PM (#9689702) Homepage Journal

    From the movie Donnie Darko:

    Donnie: Life isn't that simple. I mean who cares if Ling Ling returns the wallet and keeps the money? It has nothing to do with either fear or love.

    Kitty Farmer: Fear and love are the deepest of human emotions.

    Donnie: Okay. But you're not listening to me. There are other things that need to be taken into account here. Like the whole spectrum of human emotion. You can't just lump everything into these two categories and then just deny everything else!

  • The Power of the 2x2 Matrix! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by NoMoreNicksLeft ( 516230 ) <john.oylerNO@SPAMcomcast.net> on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:25PM (#9689726) Journal
    When all your problems in life and business can be neatly summed up into 4 absurdly simply outcomes, nothing beats the power of the 2x2 decision matrix. Examples:

    Is there a God, and should I worship him?

    ........... Worship ... Don't Worship
    God ......| Great ...... Hell
    No God | So-so .... Live it up!

    So what, if non-idiots wish to ruin the pea-brained genius of this matrix with questions like "What if there is more than one god, or that a single god might not care about Christian ideals?". This matrix can show you the only way to live your life correctly. And who can forget the sarcastic logic of Scott Adams, in this comic strip favorite:

    Bosses:
    ........... Competent .... Not Competent
    Good ..| Yeh, right ....... Hell
    Evil ..| Hell ...... Finally, someone honest!

    Finally, someone has discovered this breakthrough in philosophy that proves you are screwed no matter what you do. Before this, people actually had false hopes of something better, but they need not suffer under any such illusions today!

    Pick up your copy at your local Barnes And Noble bookstore today, for these and many other incredible matrices!
    • Is there a God, and should I worship him?

      Terry Pratchett, in one of his inimitable footnotes (from the novel Hogfather), presents the following philosophical fable.

      'Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right?' When he died he woke up in a circle of gods holding nasty-looking sticks and one of them said, 'We're going to show you what we think of Mr.

  • I've long had a deplorable tendency to view things as Black-and-White. According to this book, though, perhaps I've merely needed to include also Charcoal and Gray.

    Yep. Now I feel far less judgemental.

  • Sample Chapter (Score:2, Informative)

    by auburnate ( 755235 )
    Sample Chapter [2x2matrix.com]

    Actual link to the sample chapter so you don't have to give your email to them.

  • I had lunch with a gentleman this afternoon who is of the opinion that math is the gateway to higher understanding of things throughout one's entire life. I am curious to what other people think in this aspect.

    This is a good example, I think, of where math can help real world problems. However, the idea of isolating core issues and pitting the two against one another does not require an understanding of mathematical principles. From my point of view, many mathematical concepts and relationships work wel
  • so I am sticking with my dice
  • My wife [goldmark.org] teaches Judgment and Decision Making in a business school, and has reviewed a number of textbooks. She hasn't commented on this one, and I don't know whether she is even aware of it. But from reading the description of it, this is likely to be what she calls an "airport book". That is, a book that will sell to business travelers in airports. While there might be some research and value burried in the book, these tend to work like placebos. If you do anything at all to consciously think about your decision making, you are likely to have some improvement.

    The problem with airport books is that they are exceedinly selective in the research that they draw upon, and it is never fairly evaluated. Also conclusions are jumped to with great alacrity.

    If you really want a good decision making book, my first recommendation is Jonathan Baron's "Thinking and Deciding [amazon.com]". It is an undergraduate textbook, which I think is very geek friendly. Indeed, it is a bit too geek friendly for my wife's students, so she uses more basic text books.

    I don't know what the reviewed book contains. I do know how management people use what they call the "2 by 2 matrix". If that is the only tool discussed in the book, then one should probably give it a miss. Any decision making book that doesn't discuss Bayesian reasoning is not something I would recommend to any geek. Baron's book I would. (And I have no connection with Baron).

    • I'm just a college kid with no real qualifications to chime in here. However ... when I was in high school, we all got a free dayplanner that had cutsie sayings on every page, and a "how to study" guide in the back.

      For the smart, motivated student, it was mostly crap and common sense. But there were a few gems - one was a 2x2 matrix of urgent vs. important. That one has stuck with me. I don't see very many situations, however, where things can be boiled down to 2 binary variables.
  • This matrix concept is clearly inferior to the Jump to Conclusions mat.
  • Why not use a matrix appropriate to the size of the problem? After all, most geeks have access to octave or scilab.

  • Wow (Score:5, Funny)

    by Weaselmancer ( 533834 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:43PM (#9689928)

    I could almost feel my hair getting pointy just reading the blurb. And for some reason, I'm craving synergy. I think I'll go write a mission statement.

  • ...in order to decide to buy the book or not.

  • Sounds like the PowerPoint Method to me. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cerebus ( 10185 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:58PM (#9690114) Homepage
    Color me skeptical, but I find it hard to believe that complex issues can be reduced to a simple 2x2 matrix. My initial impression is such a method will do nothing than promote false dichotomies to the detriment of real analysis.

    It does, however, sound like the ideal method to present choices in PowerPoint.

    That's not a compliment [edwardtufte.com], just so we're clear.

  • This immediately brought to mind Pascal's Wager (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Thaelon ( 250687 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @03:59PM (#9690128)
    In short it's a decision matrix that says believing in god is a better choice than not believing in god. Being an atheist I have to admit it's about the most convincing argument I've ever seen, largely because it's purely logical. Here is the short of it:

    God exists------God does not exist
    Wager for God-------Gain all--------Satus quo
    Wager against God---Misery----------Status quo

    Read all about it here. [stanford.edu]

    Please excuse the horrible formatting, I suck at html.

    • Re:This immediately brought to mind Pascal's Wager (Score:4, Insightful)

      by dentar ( 6540 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @04:20PM (#9690367) Homepage Journal
      The problem with Pascal's wager is that it assumes there is one and only one God, and that by not believing in him/her/it you are bound for Hell and by believing in him/her/it you are not bound for Hell.

      Suppose there are two or more Gods and you believe, but you believe in the wrong one?

      Also, how can you "make yourself believe" something? You believe based upon what information you have, nothing more, nothing less. Something either makes sense and is believable or it does not and is not.

    • So it seems that you should always wager for God, right? Not so fast:


      ------------------- God_is_Good ---- God_is_Evil
      Wager for God: ------ Gain all - Become Undead Minion?
      Wager against God: - Status quo ------ Misery

      Basically only an Evil (or at least malicious) God is going to punish you for not believing in things which are unprovable (God having MADE you in the first place).

      So, do you really want to accept that God is Evil? And if God is Evil, what exactly are you going to gain?
    • Or similar to that:

      For simplicity let's call X, the proposition that: "A boulder will materialize out of thin air in exactly 1 second and will fall on your head crushing you to death"

      ---------------------True--------False
      Wager for X------Not crushed--status quo
      Wager against X----Crushed----status quo

      Now, it is just as likely that a boulder will instantly materialize out of thin air and crush you in a grisly death, as God exists (well, it's actually probably more likely).

      So are you sitting around with

    • I can't make myself believe something merely by *wanting* to believe it. People who *can* do that are not entirely sane.

      And this is the biggest flaw in Pascal's Wager. Even if it succeeded at convincing me that I should want to believe in god (it has other flaws that make it fail to do that, but even if it did succeed at that...) then I'm still stuck with the fact that my mind can still differentiate between me wanting something to be true and me believing something to be true. They are not the same thi
  • I was under the impression that all of this was handled by The Architect!

    :)

    -JT

  • How much were you paid for this Informercial? (Score:3, Funny)

    by wdavies ( 163941 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @04:23PM (#9690389) Homepage
    I'm posting Paid For Placement on this article.

    and while I'm at it, where the heck are all the Funny +5 that many of the posts above so deserve!

  • Decision making psychological tip (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Cuff ( 471607 ) on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @04:25PM (#9690405)
    Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
    and you're hampered by not having any,
    the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
    is simply by spinning a penny.
    No - not so that chance shall decide the affair
    while you're passively standing there moping;
    but the moment the penny is up in the air,
    you suddenly know what you're hoping

    - Piet Hein, from one of his Grook Books
  • I 2x2 decided I will never buy this book
  • Brr, I am still having the shivers from that 7 Habits book. In it, the author included many condescending little platitudes, but the worst one was the chapter on how to talk to people.

    Wrong way:

    Son: Gee Dad, school is for the birds ! [I am not making this up]
    Father: Why would you say that ? Education is important, for the following reasons...

    Right way:

    Son: Gee Dad, school is for the birds !
    Father: Why do you say that school is for the birds ?
    Son: Well, I feel as though no one understands me.
    Fa

  • false choices (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tunesmith ( 136392 ) <[siffert] [at] [museworld.com]> on Tuesday July 13, 2004 @06:27PM (#9691556) Homepage Journal
    the 2x2 matrix is often just a glorified illustration of the ability to recognize false choices. It's not so much inspiring that an executive would whip out a 2x2 matrix after many months of corporate strategy meetings, as it is depressing that so much time was wasted beforehand.

    Any time you feel a conflict, it is because there are two (or more) elements warring against each other. Sometimes it's just a matter of realizing that we've told ourselves that we can only have one or the other, and discovering that we can instead say "both", which is what the upper right areas of these little matrices are about. Most of us don't need months of corporate meetings to recognize that.

    false choices... dichotomies... double-binds... 2x2 matrices... all related.

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