Chapter 22: Decisiveness Under Pressure. This lesson is based upon action against Pirates and the release of 16 hostages (Somalia). Sander Aarts teaches three important lessons: 1) how to prepare, 2) Mission-Man-Me and 3) decisionmaking under pressure. You prepare well by preparing for the Most Dangerous and the Most Likely Course of action. Your priorities are Mission, Men and Me. In decision-making is done by “check the information, test your assumptions with your team to avoid blind spots, set priorities and take action”.
Principles that I strongly recognize in my work with CRM. I would like to ask Aarts about how decisions are made under high time pressure? The theory of NDM, which is very prominent in HRO and LEO, is based upon fast and intuitive system-2 DM. But this is also known to be unreliable and with great risk of cognitive biasses (Kahneman). How does Aarts stand in this and what are his recommendations for DM training?
In sum: this is another great chapter that contains many more lessons, told on the basis of real life missions and translated into valuable lessons. For example, he makes a beautiful translation of Mission, Men and Me into his recent life as a citizen and entrepreneur.