The office hums. Phones ring.
Computers buzz. Decisions get made.
But how?
People don’t always optimize. They "satisfice".
What does that mean?
You decide what is “good enough.”
A pass grade.
A reasonable compromise you can live with.
Once you reach that standard, you stop searching.
You don’t look for the absolute best.
Just for the one that works.
This is Bounded Rationality.
Limits are not failures.
They are reality.
Successful decision-makers don’t chase information.
They use only what they need.
They don’t weigh every single option.
They simply don’t have the time, or the brainpower.
And that’s where heuristics come in:
Simple rules of thumb that help us make decisions.
And meet our targets well enough in practice.
A powerful idea.
So powerful, it won a Nobel Prize in Economics.
And a Turing Award in Computer Science.
A rare and impressive combination.
Why does this matter for us?
Because decisions don't happen in isolation.
They happen inside organizations, essentially information machines.
Their structure shapes:
° what people see
° what information reaches them, and ultimately,
° what they choose.
So, here's a question to ask yourself:
Do you optimize, or do you settle for good enough?
If you optimized, ask:
Was the extra effort really worth it?
Did it meet your needs, or just your expectations?
Inspired by: Herbert Simon
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