Games decision makers play

This piece focuses on the microprocesses of decisions. It distills the complex cognitive processes inherent in decision making into pragmatic utility by articulating several “games”. These games, as they are described in the article, routinely undermine the best‐intentioned proposals, initiatives, strategies and good ideas as they are played in ways that elude most participants. The cognitive decision processes (dubbed “games” here) are described as: Framing; Criteria setting; Misuse of analogy; Misuse of rationality; and Commitment building. The key purpose of the article is to distill complex processes into manageable dialect to improve awareness. Argues that awareness and understanding of these processes is essential to achieve influence in decision making, to avoid the pitfalls of fuzzy choice, and to promote mastery over the decision‐making process.