CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO IMPROVE YOUR DECISION-MAKING
with Dr. Michael Roberto
October 28, 2025, 11 AM - 2 PM Eastern Time
10 AM - 1 PM Central Time
8 AM - 11 AM Pacific Time
$395 (US) per person
VIRTUAL SESSION (3-HOUR)

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Book by Dr. Michael Roberto
Book by Dr. Michael Roberto

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO IMPROVE YOUR DECISION-MAKING

 

Leaders hear 'yes' far too often. They don't hear bad news until it's too late. It's an enormous problem for leaders, for teams, for the entire organization. But is it inevitable? Absolutely not. This program shows you how to stimulate dissent and debate to improve your decision-making. Of course, conflict alone does not produce better decisions and improved results. Leaders need to cultivate debate and simultaneously build consensus. 

Through fascinating examples from history, including the Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the tragedy on Mount Everest, this program will explore the five myths of decision making; how to foster open debate that actually builds long-term consensus; how to achieve "diversity in counsel, unity in command"; how to move to closure and overcoming the inability to decide; avoiding "analysis paralysis" and other pitfalls. Whether you're a leader or a project team member, this program will help you leverage your team's immense untapped wisdom to make better decisions-and get better results.

DR. MICHAEL ROBERTO

 

Dr. Michael Roberto is the Trustee Professor of Management at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. He joined the tenured faculty at Bryant after serving for six years on the faculty at Harvard Business School. He has also been a Visiting Associate Professor of Management at New York University's Stern School of Business.

His research focuses on decision-making, teamwork, and leadership. He has published three books, the latest of which is titled Unlocking Creativity (Wiley, 2019), Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes For An Answer (2nd edition published in 2013), and Know What You Don't Know (published in 2009). He also has developed three Great Courses lecture series, the best-selling Everest Leadership and Team Simulation, and the award-winning Columbia's Final Mission multi-media case study about the 2003 space shuttle accident.

Dr. Roberto has taught in leadership development programs and consulted at several firms, including Mars, Deloitte, Google, Target, Apple, FedEx, Disney, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Wal-Mart, Amica, and Textron. He's also presented at numerous government organizations, including the FBI, NASA, Joint Special Operations Command, the Air War College, and West Point.

He received an A.B. with honors from Harvard College in 1991. He earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1995, graduating as a George F. Baker Scholar. He also received his doctorate from Harvard Business School in 2000.


WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

 
  • How to stimulate dissent and debate to improve decision-making
  • Ways to build a climate of candor and trust
  • Techniques for managing conflict constructively
  • How to avoid analysis paralysis and other decision-making pitfalls


TOPICS COVERED

 

Designing an Effective Decision-Making Process

Leadership Lessons from the 1996 Mount Everest Tragedy

  • Critical lessons regarding leadership style, common decision-making errors, team design, and the importance of developing a climate where people feel comfortable expressing dissenting views

Cognitive Biases in Decision-Making

  • Sunk cost trap
  • confirmation bias
  • Recency effect
  • Overconfidence bias

Ways to build psychological safety in the decision-making process

  • Build a climate of openness
  • Prototype, experiment, and test

Case Study: Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis

  • By studying these two classic decisions by President Kennedy, we compare and contrast how these two teams managed conflict more vs. less effectively.
  • Specifically, he learned a great deal from the failure, adapting his leadership style and decision-making process in several critical ways in the latter case.

DECIDING HOW TO DECIDE METHODOLOGY


Program Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based (Zoom platform)
Prerequisites: None
Advanced Preparation: None
Participants will earn 3 CPE credits or 3 PDC credits
Field of Study: Personal Development
 
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