Why You’re Constantly Doing A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Everything?

Thursday, 9.04pm

Sheffield, U.K.

I like to say I’m determined; some people would call it stubborn. It depends on your perspective. – Peggy Whitson

I was thinking about drawing a chicken.

The reason I was thinking of a chicken is because I was thinking of Doug Lisle’s presentation about a chicken crossing the road.

He has a chicken on the screen and asks why it crossed the road.

[General laughter from the audience]

There are some suggestions thrown out. To get to the other side and all that.

Then he explains – what the chicken is doing is a rapid cost-benefit analysis.

Is it better for me to stay here and look for worms or go over there where there might be more worms?

This cost-benefit analysis is something that underpins every situation.

With each sentence you read you’re rapidly evaluating the utility of continuing to read versus giving up and doing something else.

And before you opened this post you made an analysis of whether it was worth opening or not.

This is quite a powerful insight.

Let’s say you’re giving a presentation – what happens if you think of each slide as part of a cost-benefit calculation.

You’re costing someone a certain period of time – their attention.

In return you give them a benefit.

Are you droning on and on or does each slide you advance have a new, clear benefit to offer?

And if it doesn’t are you better off dropping it?

This works at every level – if you ask someone out on a date they’re doing a cost-benefit analysis; what’s it going to cost them and what are they going to get out of it?

The answer to your question depends on the results of their calculation.

But is it possible that those kinds of calculations only work when you’re faced with immediate decisions in the here and now?

What about longer term decisions that are affected by many factors – with many outcomes, each with their own costs and benefits?

In that situation, maybe you have to go a little with your gut – see the costs and do it anyway.

Maybe the chicken isn’t the only model you need to know in order to make good decisions.

So, in the end, I’ve gone for a fantasy bug-ish thing – hoping that it will help make sense at some point.

Cheers,

Karthik Suresh