--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168…" description: "\"“A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168 decisions in this laborious way, came to a stunning conclusion: Of the teams he studied, only 29% considered ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg" --- # A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168 decisions in this… ![“A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168 decisions in this laborious way, came to a stunning conclusion: Of the teams he studied, only 29% considered more than one alternative.† By way of comparison, 30% of the teens in the Fischhoff study considered more than one alternative.” quote by Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg) > ““A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168 decisions in this laborious way, came to a stunning conclusion: Of the teams he studied, only 29% considered more than one alternative.† By way of comparison, 30% of the teens in the Fischhoff study considered more than one alternative.”” [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Most people consider only one option, limiting better outcomes. **In simple terms:** People often overlook alternatives. Key Takeaway Seek multiple options before deciding. Themes decision making cognition choices Mood analytical curious Type research informative When to use this quote - business strategy - personal life - education - policy making Key Concepts cognitive bias alternatives Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to generate more alternatives? - How does group size affect decision diversity? A Different Perspective Time pressure can restrict option generation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ## Related quotes > [In the chapter on study we considered the importance of observing ourselves to see how often our speech is a frantic attempt to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/in-the-chapter-on-study-we-considered-the-importance-of-observing/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“The decisions we take reflects our belief and our charachter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajnish-borah/the-decisions-we-take-reflects-our-belief-and-our-charachter/) Rajnish Borah > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" "A process by which I use my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/cheshvan-starts-tonight-rixon-said-what-are-you-doing-arsing-around/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“Making a decision takes a moment, living a decision takes a life-time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherif-a-el-mawardy/making-a-decision-takes-a-moment-living-a-decision-takes-a-life-time/) [Sherif A. El-Mawardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherif-a-el-mawardy/) > [My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. 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I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) ## More by Chip Heath > [“It seems some CEOs who pay extremely large acquisition premiums … come to believe their own press.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/it-seems-some-ceos-who-pay-extremely-large-acquisition-premiums-come/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Regrets of the Dying.” She shared the five most common regrets of the people she had come to know: 1. I wish I’d had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/regrets-of-the-dying-she-shared-the-five-most-common-regrets-of-the/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“We are fighting a war on load times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/we-are-fighting-a-war-on-load-times/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Peter Bregman, a productivity guru and blogger for the Harvard Business Review, recommends a simple trick for dodging this fate. He advises us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/peter-bregman-a-productivity-guru-and-blogger-for-the-harvard/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Compromise is like the old joke, “A camel is a horse made by a committee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/compromise-is-like-the-old-joke-a-camel-is-a-horse-made-by-a-committee/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [When people know the desired destination, they’re free to improvise, as needed, in arriving there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/when-people-know-the-desired-destination-they-re-free-to-improvise-as/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [“Research tells us that brainstorming becomes more productive when it’s focused. 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I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision. 2. Write the criteria down as a principle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. My worst was compromising on certain aspects of a deal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-best-business-decision-was-to-be-independent-as-a-musician-and/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Making a decision takes a moment, living a decision takes a life-time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherif-a-el-mawardy/making-a-decision-takes-a-moment-living-a-decision-takes-a-life-time/) [Sherif A. El-Mawardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherif-a-el-mawardy/) > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" "A process by which I use my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/cheshvan-starts-tonight-rixon-said-what-are-you-doing-arsing-around/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [“The decisions we take reflects our belief and our charachter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajnish-borah/the-decisions-we-take-reflects-our-belief-and-our-charachter/) Rajnish Borah > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) [Browse all 4,912 Decision making quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168 decisions in this laborious way, came to a stunning conclusion: Of the teams he studied, only 29% considered more than one alternative.† By way of comparison, 30% of the teens in the Fischhoff study considered more than one alternative.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chip Heath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168-decisions-in-this-laborious/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decision making" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168-decisions-in-this-laborious/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f26/chip-heath-4065_decision-making_a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168_909874.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A 1993 study by Nutt, which analyzed 168 decisions in this laborious way, came to a stunning conclusion: Of…” — Chip Heath", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chip Heath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A 1993 study by Nutt, which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168-decisions-in-this-laborious/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/a-1993-study-by-nutt-which-analyzed-168-decisions-in-this-laborious/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```