Decisions, Decisions

Consulting and Seminars from

H.F. Lillywhite, Logical Learning and Consulting

503-649-7647 email: decisions@hfl-llc.com

The quality of our work and our lives depends, to a great extent, on the quality of the decisions we make.

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Seminars

Seminars are intended for anyone who makes or influences decisions.

Standard seminars are only partly standard, each presentation will be modified to fit the needs of the host organization. Organizations sponsoring seminars are asked to provide real-world questions to be used as examples or incorporated into exercises. Seminars are aimed at the practical world, not just theory.

Participants in full-length seminars will be asked to select a decision they face in personal or professional life. They will have opportunity to apply the concepts presented to that decision during the seminar, and to continue work on the decision between sessions.

Customized seminars, long or short, are available and will be developed to meet the needs of sponsoring organizations.

Except for special cases, all full-length seminars will be presented in at least two sessions, about a week apart. During the time between sessions, participants have an assignment related to their particular situation. We discuss these assignments before the end of the seminar. This allows participants to work on their questions and to think about and discuss the concepts presented. There are also objectives to be completed after the seminar to help apply the concepts and tools. Experience shows that this format is more likely to change the lives of participants than is a single session presentation.

Participation is important in all seminars. Sessions will be limited to no more than 20 people to allow discussion and involvement. The minimum number of participants for a seminar is five in order to provide a "critical mass" for discussion.

Short Seminars

Short seminars currently available:

Seven Deadly sins of Decision Making (and more) - one hour. Click for more information.
The Dangers of Groupthink (The Powers and Perils of Strong Leadership) - one hour. Click for more information.
To Risk or not to Risk - one hour. Click for more information.
Decision-making styles - one or two hours. Click for more information.

Steps to Better Decisions - two hours. Click for more information.
Introduction to Basic Probability - two hours Click for more information.
Using Your Two Minds - two hours. Click for more information.

Decisions under Time and Resource Constraints - two hours. Click for more information.
NOTE: A special version of this seminar for emergency response personnel is available.
Emphasis is on dealing with disasters such as earthquakes, major storms,
civil disruptions, etc. This modified seminar runs about three hours but the price
will be only that for a two-hour seminar. For volunteer organizations, the
seminar will be pro bono except for travel-related costs.

Full-Length Seminars

With the full-length seminars, we are aiming for nothing less than a life-changing experience. These seminars include assignments between sessions and objectives for participants to work on after the seminar. They are designed to help participants start to apply the concepts in their own lives. If desired, a follow-up session can be added to continue that process. Participants should come prepared to discuss a major decision they face.

The full-length seminars can include any combination of topics from the shorter seminars at client discretion, or if desired we can provided prepared seminars.

Typical full-length seminars are:

Eight hours with no CEU credit, treats topics listed below as selected in conjunction with client.
Ten hours with one CEU offered, Fuller treatment of topics from eight hour seminar.
Twelve hours with no CEU credit, Fuller treatment of selected topics or treatment of all topics.
Fifteen hours with 1.5 CEU offered. Fuller treatment of topics from twelve hour seminar.

(Note that CEU credit requires a demonstration of competency in the material presented.)

Full-length seminars may treat the following topics as they apply to the work and personal lives of the participants:

The uncertain nature of Decisions
Unavoidable risk
Risk assessment
What can we do to reduce risk?
Avoiding groupthink
Why we take bad risks, and risks we should take
Basic probability issues
The gamblers' fallacy
Alpha vs. Beta (Type 1 vs. Type 2) risk
Probability, expectation, and utility
Risk as opportunity
Perception vs. reality
Sensitivity, specificity, base rate and Bayes' law
Controlling risks
Risk tolerance and other mental and emotional aspects
Strengths and weaknesses of the human mind - and what to do with them.

Steps to better decisions

A participant workbook is provided with full-length seminars. Each workbook includes a list of objectives, space for note-taking, and exercise information. Participants should bring note-taking materials and a calculator, preferably a scientific calculator.