Last Week in the WSJ

A really interesting article on how the mind works.  Apparently researchers have shown that you make a decision around 10 seconds before you are aware of it.  The actual impact of this is twofold.  First, they were able to predict people's choices before they were actually made with 70% accuracy, which either means they're good guessers, that there's something to this, or both.  Second, that your first impression is usually correct.  I remember that axiom from high school and college and tried to live by it on my tests, because more often than not you'd talk yourself out of the correct answer (your first impression).  I have heard and read a lot from different business leaders saying the same thing.  You don't want to go off half-cocked and just make stupid decisions, but at the same time, you don't want to be paralyzed by analysis.  However, if you have to choose between making a quick decision and taking ages to do it, you make the quick decision.  Poor leaders tend to be the ones who never make up their mind to do something.