The new way to decide in the AI age - start at the end. Business momentum, time saved shopping, and why satisfiers will win.

Are you a satisficer or a maximizer?

Herbert Simon, economist, political scientist, and cognitive psychologist, coined those terms back in the 1950s.
Satisficers aim for good enough.
Maximizers want the best possible.

Satisficers tend to be happier.

Because happiness, it turns out, doesn’t live at the end of a never-ending list of options.

In today’s world, especially with AI at our fingertips, the problem isn’t not knowing enough.
It’s knowing too much.

You get 100 incredible options for any decision - 
100 AI-generated productivity tips, 100 morning routines, 100 diet plans, 100 leadership books, 100 business models.
And you end up doing… none.
Or, picking the first thing that feels right and calling it strategy.


DECISION-MAKING DONE BACKWARDS

How I don't shop for clothes (and why it works so well)

I don’t start by looking. I start by asking:

  • What do I need and why?

  • What are the must-have features?

  • What are the deal-breakers?

Last time I needed shoes to speak on stage.
Here’s how I broke it down:

  • Purpose? To match my outfit for a talk.

  • Must-haves? Casual style. White. Super comfy.

  • Don’t care? Brand name.

  • No-go? Over a certain price. Cool but uncomfortable.

I went shopping.
I found the first pair that checked those boxes.
I bought them.
I was home in 20 minutes. Done.

Was it the best pair in the world? No idea. Don’t care.

It was good enough, and more importantly - I had a whole day to do other stuff and prepare for what mattered most - my talk, not my looks.


MOMENTUM > PERFECTION

In life and in business, most people waste far too much energy trying to find the “perfect” option, especially when trying something new (and not knowing what will work in the end)

That’s the real cost of maximizing:

  • Lost time.

  • Missed opportunities.

  • Momentum stolen from what actually matters - action.

AI?
It makes this worse for maximizers.
You think access to more knowledge will help you choose better.
But it often just floods your brain and paralyzes action.

The people who thrive with AI?
The ones who know how to filter fast - the satisficers
They define “good enough” first, sift through the options at lightning speed, then move into action.

If you're leading, buying, learning, experimenting—

Don’t start by evaluating all your options.
Start by defining your choosing criteria.

And if you're testing something new?
Try it fast. Try it small. Try it cheap and easy.
You’ll learn more by doing than by planning for perfection.

Over to you dear reader, have you spent time deciding the vital few that matter to speed up choosing so you could spend more time living?