The Problem with Decision-Making
#1 - The Spark
We don’t need better tools. We need better thinking systems.
This isn’t about decisions — it’s about the invisible mental models steering them.
We make decisions all the time.
Big ones. Small ones.
It’s second nature.
But when it matters most,
we use the same old mental models
to make the same bad decisions.
We’re taught that decision-making is about sharper tools.
Faster processing.
More data. Better decisions.
But what if it’s not the tools that matter?
What if it’s the mental models?
The ones we’ve been using for years.
And don’t even think about anymore.
They simplify decisions.
But they also trap us.
And we do know why we keep using them.
When we use a mental model over and over,
neural pathways form,
it becomes ingrained.
It becomes efficient.
And it becomes the brain’s go-to setting.
But this is cognitive inertia.
Once the brain locks into a pattern,
it doesn’t want to let go.
And we stop questioning it.
Because, by design, we don’t want to.
The Opportunity in Flexibility
Our brains are plastic.
We can evolve if we want to.
Instead of defaulting to the same model,
we can create adaptable frameworks.
No more one-size-fits-all.
It becomes about knowing which model to pull out when.
It’s about flexibility.
This isn’t about abandoning the models that have worked in the past.
It’s about upgrading them.
Taking the same tools we’ve used,
and adapting them for new contexts.
The real opportunity here isn’t to be faster.
It’s to think smarter.
To recognize when the world has shifted,
and when the tool no longer fits.
And to have the flexibility to switch gears.
This isn’t an academic exercise.
It’s a competitive advantage.
Companies who build flexibility into their thinking always outperform those who don’t.
They don’t stick with what used to work.
They upgrade to the latest and greatest.
It’s not about rejecting the past.
It’s about expanding on it.
The Fast-Decision Fallacy
Speed isn’t always the answer.
What if the real opportunity is taking time to think better — not faster?
Adaptive models require upfront thought.
But once you build them, they allow you to move quickly,
because they’re built to evolve with the environment.
The real challenge isn’t in having old models.
It’s in not updating them.
It’s in letting them run on autopilot.
And we do it because it’s easier.
The opportunity lies in recognizing the inertia — and choosing to break it.
It’s about choosing to upgrade.
The danger isn’t that what we do now is wrong.
The real danger is:
When we stop questioning our models,
we stop seeing the limits of them.
We treat them like truths.
Like fixed beliefs.
And that’s when they become invisible.
When we fail to see the cognitive bias at play,
we’re locked in.
And that’s a dangerous place to be.
So what if we started questioning the frameworks we’ve been using for decades?
It’s not about discarding them.
It’s about using them differently.
It’s about adapting them to meet the new challenges.
The possibility is there.
We don’t need to abandon everything we’ve learned.
We just need to upgrade.
The Competitive Edge of Mental Flexibility
Imagine the advantage of a mental toolkit that adapts to new information,
that shifts with the environment.
Not one fixed model,
but a series of flexible frameworks,
ready for whatever the world throws at us.
That’s the real advantage.
It’s not about getting faster with the same tools.
It’s about evolving those tools.
It’s about thinking in ways that flex.
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