Wait, The Art and Science of Delay (80 kbps, 2012)

Release Date: 6/12/2012
Author: Frank Partnoy
Narrator: Sean Runnette
Publisher: Blackstone Audio Inc
Genre: Business, Career Skills
Edition: Unabridged
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 80 kbps
Length: 8 hours and 52 min.

DESCRIPTION

Subtitle: The Art and Science of Delay

A Kirkus Reviews “New and Notable Title”, June 2012

A passionate polemic in favor of pausing to think, not blink

Warren Buffett compares stock trading to being at bat, except that you don’t have to swing until there’s a fat pitch. Great athletes agree, but with shorter time horizons; they excel not because of fast neurological responses but because of their ability to delay as long as possible before reacting, returning a serve or grabbing a rebound. Successful CEOs, firefighters, and military officers all know how to manage delay.

In this provocative, entertaining book, Frank Partnoy provides a necessary rebuttal to the gurus of “go with your gut.” He shows that decisions of all kinds, whether “snap” or long-term strategic, benefit from being made at the last possible moment. The art of knowing how long you can afford to delay before committing is at the heart of many a great decision—whether in a corporate takeover or a marriage proposal. Exploring decisions from those made in half a second to those that take months and years, Partnoy demonstrates that procrastination is often a virtue, that the ability to wait is the path to happiness, and that our gut instincts often betray us. We do not always make smart choices in the blink of an eye, as this eye-opening book reveals.


REVIEWS

“Having mined the best of American research in fields as wide-ranging as finance, behavioral economics, and law, Frank Partnoy has written a beguilingly readable treatise that boils down to a single, easily digestible conclusion: in our busy modern lives, most of us react too quickly. Wait will naturally and rightly be compared to Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow as a trail-blazing book exploring the hidden crannies and the treacherous pitfalls of human decision-making. I whole-heartedly recommend it.”—Roger Lowenstein, author of The End of Wall Street and When Genius Failed

“Wait is one of those rare books that will change not just the way you think but the way you act. The book is full of ideas that are fascinating, useful—and at times mind-blowing. I was captivated.”—Bethany McLean, coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room

“Frank Partnoy turns conventional wisdom on its head with this counterintuitive approach to decision-making. Rather than telling us how to make decisions faster and faster, he mines and refines a rich lode of information from experts in a surprising variety of fields to demonstrate the power of delay, whether measured in milliseconds, days, or decades. Wait is a great read, chock full of fascinating insights.”—Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind


“Entertaining and provocative, Portnoy probes and illuminates the complexities of human decision making with surprising insights and recommendations.”—Publishers Weekly

“While there is a high premium today for speed, the author suggests that there are serious downsides to rapid decision-making, unless it is accompanied by long-term strategic thinking and planning…Partnoy’s results are groundbreaking and a potential corrective to modern pressures for rapid response…A fascinating addition to the study of decision-making. File alongside Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Ariely, [and] Jonah Lehrer.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)



Frank Partnoy is the George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Fnance and is the director of the Center on Corporate and Securities Law at the University of San Diego. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the complexities of modern finance and financial market regulation. He is the author of F.I.A.S.C.O.: Blood in the Water on Wall Street; Infectious Greed: How Deceit and Risk Corrupted the Financial Markets; and The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals.