Stephen LynchSource: Professor Gary Marcus of New York University.

Force yourself to consider alternatives:
Our brains are not good at making rational decisions unless we generate a range of alternative options first. Be willing to listen to contrary points of view. Forcing yourself to think about the opposite point of view will help you make better decisions.

Reframe it:
The context we use to frame an issue has a huge impact on our decisions. Politicians, advertisers and other influencers use "framing" techniques to create the context that persuades us to their point of view. To avoid being locked into one frame of reference, invite a diverse range of people to provide you with alternative ways of looking at a situation.

Correlation does not equal causation:
There's a clear correlation between foot size and being richer. That's because people with small feet are usually children. Having big feet doesn't cause you to be richer. Beware the trap of thinking that correlation equals causation. It doesn't.

Sample size:
Beware of jumping to conclusions. A small sample of events does not extrapolate to them being universal laws. Obtain a statistically significant sample size before making generalizations.

Beware your impulsive emotional responses:
Use strategies to counter your emotional impulses: – take 10 deep breaths before responding to an emotionally charged situation, sleep on it before making a major business decision, avoid shopping in the confectionary isle when you are hungry etc.

Goal specificity:
Achievement improves immensely when you have concrete goals and action steps. Abstract priorities like 'read more business books' or 'lose weight' are not effective. Replace these with: 'read this book by next Tuesday' and 'go to gym 3 times this week'.

Make important decisions when relaxed:
Stress does make us stupid. Studies show that stress impairs cognitive function and leads to poorer quality decisions.

Stephen Lynch   
Chief Operating Officer
RESULTS.com