<p>What do these scenarios have in common: a professional tennis player returning a serve, a woman evaluating a first date across the table, a naval officer assessing a threat to his ship, and a comedian about to reveal a punch line?</p><p>In this counterintuitive and insightful work, author Frank Partnoy weaves together findings from hundreds of scientific studies and interviews with wide-ranging experts to craft a picture of effective decision-making that runs counter to our brutally fast-paced world. Even as technology exerts new pressures to speed up our lives, it turns out that the choices we make - - unconsciously and consciously, in time frames varying from milliseconds to years - - benefit profoundly from delay. As this winning and provocative book reveals, taking control of time and slowing down our responses yields better results in almost every arena of life ... even when time seems to be of the essence.</p><p>The procrastinator in all of us will delight in Partnoy's accounts of celebrity 'delay specialists,' from Warren Buffett to Chris Evert to Steve Kroft, underscoring the myriad ways in which delaying our reactions to everyday choices - - large and small - - can improve the quality of our lives.</p>
Wait: The Art and Science of Delay
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A Fast Company Best Business Book of 2012
Roger Lowenstein, author of The End of Wall Street and When Genius Failed
“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."
Bethany McLean, co-author of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here
“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.”
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A fascinating addition to the study of decision-making…. While there is a high premium today for speed, the author suggests that there are serious downsides to rapid decision-making.… Partnoy’s results are groundbreaking and a potential corrective to modern pressures for rapid response, whether on the playing field, in high-speed computer trading and corporate boardrooms, or on the battlefield…. File alongside Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Ariely, [and] Jonah Lehrer.”
Jack Covert, 800-CEO-READS
“Well-written…. Chapter Three is particularly fascinating in its implications for how we make decisions and manage the world.”
Margaret Heffernan, CBS Money Watch
“Marvelous … Wait is an impassioned and thought-provoking book."
Christopher Chabris, Wall Street Journal
“Mr. Partnoy's intention in Wait is to take on those who evangelize the power of thinking quickly, ‘getting things done’ and leading an organized life. We can praise efficiency but fail to take note of what is sacrificed in its name. Wait offers a valuable counterweight to this attitude, reminding us that quality should matter as much as speed."
Economist
“A popular new book…. Mr Partnoy argues that too many people fail to recognize what good public speakers and comedians all understand: that success depends on knowing when to delay, and for how long.”
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Partnoy draws on the latest research in neuroscience and behavioral economics to provide a delightful, insightful and often surprising ‘Wait, wait, do tell me’ account of decision-making in many areas of everyday life, ranging from sports to surgery to speed-dating and stock-picking…. Wait is chock-full of arresting insights about the complexities of decision-making"
Creditcards.com
"A lively, reader-friendly survey of scientific research into the pros and cons of rapid decision-making."
Bloomberg
“An intellectual romp through the science of how timing influences human decision-making.”
Washington Post
“Fascinating, engaging…. This isn’t a book of platitudes, but one built on one simple imperative. Partnoy just wants us to think before we act or speak. Wait serves as excellent reminder that, when humanly possible, it’s best not to hurry.”
About the Author
<p>Frank Partnoy is the author of <I>F.I.A.S.C.O.</I>, <I>Infectious Greed</I>, and <I>The Match King</I>. Formerly an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and a practicing corporate lawyer, he is one of the world's leading experts on market regulation and is a frequent commentator for the <I>Financial Times</I>, the <I>New York Times</I>, NPR, and CBS's 60 Minutes. Partnoy is a graduate of Yale Law School and is the George E. Barrett Professor of Law and Finance and the founding director of the Center for Corporate and Securities Law at the University of San Diego.</p>
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Partnoy says he can boil down the advice he offers to all future decision makers- wait. This book examines the how's and why's of waiting, from the milliseconds a baseball batter waits before deciding to swing or not, to the decades economists take into account when measuring the value of a human life. Throughout, the book has a definitely economic theme, but the author does apply waiting to contexts outside of business.
One of his more interesting examples is how subliminal presentations of fast-food logos (by flashing them too quickly for the conscious mind to register) changes people's perceptions of time. It speeds them up. So can working on an hourly wage instead of a salary. That encourages people to measure their time by what they could be making with it, leading to less satisfaction of time off and vacations. From first dates to picking stocks, Partnoy makes the claim that waiting to make a decision until the last moment possible leads to better decision making. It's here that the evidence is a little thin. He repeats the assertion a lot, and gives plenty of examples, but says very little about those times when a fast decision is better than a slow one. In essence, when the fast, automatic part of the brain is better than the slow, conscious part of the brain. The Gift of Fear is a book about how our snap decisions about fearful situations can be more accurate, and safer, than our deliberate, reasoned decisions. I'd like to see these kinds of ideas going head to head in a book like Wait, but they don't. The section on procrastinating was interesting, but again, under-developed.
Partnoy does acknowledge the existence of the two systems, but comes down pretty strongly on the idea that the more time we have to wait, the better our decisions are. He uses evidence from multiple disciplines, including economics, sports, business, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology. All of these are interesting, but they don't really feel fully developed or explored. For example, an early chapter focuses on a breakthrough relating to how the variability of one's heartbeat in response to the environment, as an infant, is highly predictive of later adult behavior. I find that a little hard to buy 100%, and Partnoy does little to present alternative evidence or to fully explore the potential holes in that theory (e.g., its correlational nature). That makes it hard to fully recommend this book. Still, it's an interesting read about an interesting topic that is perhaps a little ambitious in its scope versus its evidece. If you're not sure whether or not the book is for you, Partnoy would offer the simple advice of waiting until the last possible moment before deciding to click on that button to add it to your cart.
One of his more interesting examples is how subliminal presentations of fast-food logos (by flashing them too quickly for the conscious mind to register) changes people's perceptions of time. It speeds them up. So can working on an hourly wage instead of a salary. That encourages people to measure their time by what they could be making with it, leading to less satisfaction of time off and vacations. From first dates to picking stocks, Partnoy makes the claim that waiting to make a decision until the last moment possible leads to better decision making. It's here that the evidence is a little thin. He repeats the assertion a lot, and gives plenty of examples, but says very little about those times when a fast decision is better than a slow one. In essence, when the fast, automatic part of the brain is better than the slow, conscious part of the brain. The Gift of Fear is a book about how our snap decisions about fearful situations can be more accurate, and safer, than our deliberate, reasoned decisions. I'd like to see these kinds of ideas going head to head in a book like Wait, but they don't. The section on procrastinating was interesting, but again, under-developed.
Partnoy does acknowledge the existence of the two systems, but comes down pretty strongly on the idea that the more time we have to wait, the better our decisions are. He uses evidence from multiple disciplines, including economics, sports, business, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and cognitive psychology. All of these are interesting, but they don't really feel fully developed or explored. For example, an early chapter focuses on a breakthrough relating to how the variability of one's heartbeat in response to the environment, as an infant, is highly predictive of later adult behavior. I find that a little hard to buy 100%, and Partnoy does little to present alternative evidence or to fully explore the potential holes in that theory (e.g., its correlational nature). That makes it hard to fully recommend this book. Still, it's an interesting read about an interesting topic that is perhaps a little ambitious in its scope versus its evidece. If you're not sure whether or not the book is for you, Partnoy would offer the simple advice of waiting until the last possible moment before deciding to click on that button to add it to your cart.
By John M. Ford
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Frank Partnoy helps us feel better about taking longer to do things. He offers a counterpoint to those time management books about how to do things faster. His book explores the advantages of delay for decision making and performance. We should slow down and listen.
The book examines professional athletes in "superfast" sports like tennis. A common misconception is that they simply move faster than we do. Their real secret is more flexible time management. "[W]hat distinguishes top tennis returners and baseball batters is not their ability to react quickly to visual stimulus, but rather their ability to create extra time, and then get the most out of it, before they have to react."
"The superfast athlete's approach of first observing, second processing, and third acting--at the last possible moment--also works well for our personal and business decisions. The best time managers are comfortable pausing for as long as necessary before they act, even in the face of the most pressing decisions." Partnoy describes the role that strategic delay plays in several professions. Chess masters, comedians, venture capitalists, and military strategists also use strategic pauses. Delay plays an important role in everyday actions as well. Apology and creativity also benefit from smart timing.
Research addresses the role of delay in our thinking. "Psychologists have suggested we have two systems of thinking, one intuitive and one analytical, both of which can lead us to make serious cognitive mistakes." The intuitive system is wired to act immediately, but may not move us in the right direction. Delay can save us from this type of error. "Once we have at least half a second, we can engage in effortful, conscious thought, either to reinforce the automatic reactions of system 1 or to try to slow down or change them."
Partnoy makes more general observations about how we use time. "Much human behavior is based on `clock time,' which divides our day into quantifiable units, measured by an objective clock. In clock time, those units dictate when tasks begin and end. Some of clock time is based on nature, but much of it is fabricated. Clock time isn't the only way to organize behavior. A second approach is `event time.' In event time, we continue doing something until we finish or some event occurs." Rather than being driven along by the clock or by events around us, we should make conscious choices about the best way to manage time. "Minimizing delay and optimizing delay are two very different things."
I enjoyed this book, though some time passed between when I bought it and when I got around to reading it. I recommend that you find the right time to read it, too.
The book examines professional athletes in "superfast" sports like tennis. A common misconception is that they simply move faster than we do. Their real secret is more flexible time management. "[W]hat distinguishes top tennis returners and baseball batters is not their ability to react quickly to visual stimulus, but rather their ability to create extra time, and then get the most out of it, before they have to react."
"The superfast athlete's approach of first observing, second processing, and third acting--at the last possible moment--also works well for our personal and business decisions. The best time managers are comfortable pausing for as long as necessary before they act, even in the face of the most pressing decisions." Partnoy describes the role that strategic delay plays in several professions. Chess masters, comedians, venture capitalists, and military strategists also use strategic pauses. Delay plays an important role in everyday actions as well. Apology and creativity also benefit from smart timing.
Research addresses the role of delay in our thinking. "Psychologists have suggested we have two systems of thinking, one intuitive and one analytical, both of which can lead us to make serious cognitive mistakes." The intuitive system is wired to act immediately, but may not move us in the right direction. Delay can save us from this type of error. "Once we have at least half a second, we can engage in effortful, conscious thought, either to reinforce the automatic reactions of system 1 or to try to slow down or change them."
Partnoy makes more general observations about how we use time. "Much human behavior is based on `clock time,' which divides our day into quantifiable units, measured by an objective clock. In clock time, those units dictate when tasks begin and end. Some of clock time is based on nature, but much of it is fabricated. Clock time isn't the only way to organize behavior. A second approach is `event time.' In event time, we continue doing something until we finish or some event occurs." Rather than being driven along by the clock or by events around us, we should make conscious choices about the best way to manage time. "Minimizing delay and optimizing delay are two very different things."
I enjoyed this book, though some time passed between when I bought it and when I got around to reading it. I recommend that you find the right time to read it, too.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars
44 reviews
101 of 108 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wait! before you make your next decision, you must...
Jun 28 2012
By Mark Graham
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I believe I can be most helpful with this review by summarizing the author's argument. His basic argument is that we think and act too quickly -- in business, in our human interactions, and in major and minor life decisions. In general, we should wait as long as possible before making a decision. The author suggests that if we have 10 seconds, we wait until the last second. If we have an hour, we wait until the 59th minute. If we have a year, we ought to wait 364 days. If we have only a second, we ought to act or make our decision in the last few milliseconds.
Why? Because that's what the top experts do in every field. It may seem that they all make split-second decisions -- but even then, they are stretching the available fractions of a second as far as possible, to give the most time for both their rational and intuitive minds to do their best work.
This book is an attempt to weave together the sprawling strands of decision research. He begins by looking at the work of Porges, a psychologist who has focused his work on the relationship between brain and heart, with the vagus nerve as the lightning-fast conduit of communication. Porges' findings? That heart rate variability in response to stimulus is the determining factor in health and success. That means the person is highly conscious of their surroundings. And it gives them more freedom, and time, in response.
Looking at professional sports, the best athletes are the ones who are able to size up all important factors in a situation within a certain time frame, and then react physically. In tennis, considered a "superfast" sport, this happens within a second. A tennis player relies on what's called "ball identification." When the ball is identified (taking a fraction of a second), the player only has the remaining fraction of a second to react. But that response has been practiced over and over, so that part is simple. The key is the ability to size up the situation, or "ball identification."
So, what's the takeaway in this book? We need to take advantage of whatever time is available to us. In the West, clock time (the arbitrary division of time into seconds, minutes, and hours) predominates. But it may be helpful, for example, to switch to event (the time it actually takes to finish a task) whenever you care about doing a good job. Skillful procrastination is another habit we might learn.
When we're interacting with others, instead of reacting immediately to what they say -- whether a positive or negative response -- we might stretch out the time we have before responding. Far too many helpful insights and thoughts are lost to hasty negative responses. This is especially true in business situations. To that end, business readers may be interested in The Practice of Creativity: A Manual for Dynamic Group Problem-Solving.
Ultimately, we must learn to maximize the time we have available to make our decision of how we respond to our environment. This is an art in itself. I hope this review was helpful.
Why? Because that's what the top experts do in every field. It may seem that they all make split-second decisions -- but even then, they are stretching the available fractions of a second as far as possible, to give the most time for both their rational and intuitive minds to do their best work.
This book is an attempt to weave together the sprawling strands of decision research. He begins by looking at the work of Porges, a psychologist who has focused his work on the relationship between brain and heart, with the vagus nerve as the lightning-fast conduit of communication. Porges' findings? That heart rate variability in response to stimulus is the determining factor in health and success. That means the person is highly conscious of their surroundings. And it gives them more freedom, and time, in response.
Looking at professional sports, the best athletes are the ones who are able to size up all important factors in a situation within a certain time frame, and then react physically. In tennis, considered a "superfast" sport, this happens within a second. A tennis player relies on what's called "ball identification." When the ball is identified (taking a fraction of a second), the player only has the remaining fraction of a second to react. But that response has been practiced over and over, so that part is simple. The key is the ability to size up the situation, or "ball identification."
So, what's the takeaway in this book? We need to take advantage of whatever time is available to us. In the West, clock time (the arbitrary division of time into seconds, minutes, and hours) predominates. But it may be helpful, for example, to switch to event (the time it actually takes to finish a task) whenever you care about doing a good job. Skillful procrastination is another habit we might learn.
When we're interacting with others, instead of reacting immediately to what they say -- whether a positive or negative response -- we might stretch out the time we have before responding. Far too many helpful insights and thoughts are lost to hasty negative responses. This is especially true in business situations. To that end, business readers may be interested in The Practice of Creativity: A Manual for Dynamic Group Problem-Solving.
Ultimately, we must learn to maximize the time we have available to make our decision of how we respond to our environment. This is an art in itself. I hope this review was helpful.
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and Important Idea
July 2 2012
By Book Fanatic
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
A refreshingly different view! Don't just blink but think. Frank Partnoy in this book argues that we are doing too much intuitive "gut" acting and we need to in one word wait. He makes a strong case that those who wait perform the best.
I've read a number of books in this area and I think Partnoy's book is a valuable contribution. Even if you are going to go with your gut, which I believe is the way to go in some cases, after reading this book I'm convinced I need to put it off as long as possible. Partnoy argues that one should make decisions in a three step process:
1) Figure out how long you have to make the decision
2) Ponder the decision as long as possible
3) Act quickly at the last possible moment
In the super fast sports chapter at the beginning of the book the author argues that even in cases in which things happen so fast you can't make conscious decisions, that the best performers are those who are quickest to act after waiting the longest possible time before doing so (e.g. hitting a baseball or tennis ball). From beginning to end he telescopes out from these sub-second decisions to examples that may takes seconds or minutes, weeks, months, years, and decades.
This book is an interesting read and is one of those rare books that may actually prompt you into reconsidering how you behave. It doesn't just repeat the same old tired pablum. I give it high marks and highly recommend it.
This book has Amazon's valuable "Search Inside" feature and I recommend you browse it before you buy. Read the introduction and the table of contents at least so you know what areas it covers.
I've read a number of books in this area and I think Partnoy's book is a valuable contribution. Even if you are going to go with your gut, which I believe is the way to go in some cases, after reading this book I'm convinced I need to put it off as long as possible. Partnoy argues that one should make decisions in a three step process:
1) Figure out how long you have to make the decision
2) Ponder the decision as long as possible
3) Act quickly at the last possible moment
In the super fast sports chapter at the beginning of the book the author argues that even in cases in which things happen so fast you can't make conscious decisions, that the best performers are those who are quickest to act after waiting the longest possible time before doing so (e.g. hitting a baseball or tennis ball). From beginning to end he telescopes out from these sub-second decisions to examples that may takes seconds or minutes, weeks, months, years, and decades.
This book is an interesting read and is one of those rare books that may actually prompt you into reconsidering how you behave. It doesn't just repeat the same old tired pablum. I give it high marks and highly recommend it.
This book has Amazon's valuable "Search Inside" feature and I recommend you browse it before you buy. Read the introduction and the table of contents at least so you know what areas it covers.
53 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating -- the anti-BLINK
Jun 18 2012
By H. Kent Greenfield
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Frank Partnoy has been one of the country's most insightful writers about finance and economics for more than a decade. He's gone further afield (or actually closer to home) in WAIT, writing about the myriad ways in which we would all be better off if we could learn the value of waiting to make a decision rather than jumping in quickly. If you are a fan of Malcolm Gladwell's BLINK -- which I am -- you owe it to yourself to read WAIT. Contrary to Gladwell's assertion that we should all trust our snap judgments, Partnoy argues that the best decision makers, athletes, investors, even comedians are expert at waiting as long as possible before deciding or acting.
Partnoy's writing is funny, informal, and accessible. In WAIT, he emerges as one of the most versatile and nimble public intellectuals writing today. Well worth a read, and I wouldn't wait.
Partnoy's writing is funny, informal, and accessible. In WAIT, he emerges as one of the most versatile and nimble public intellectuals writing today. Well worth a read, and I wouldn't wait.
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