STRATEGYWeeks to result

Impatience and Time Preferences

Impatience in decision-making

Problem it solves

unclear strategic direction

Best for

Decision-making under uncertainty, negotiation

Not ideal for

Simple, straightforward decision-making

Overview

Why this framework exists

Impatience and time preferences can significantly impact decision-making, particularly in situations involving uncertainty or negotiation. This framework can help individuals and organizations make more informed decisions by taking into account their time preferences.

Core principles

3 total
  1. Impatience can affect decision-making, particularly in situations involving uncertainty or negotiation.
  2. Time preferences can influence the value placed on current versus future outcomes.
  3. Considering impatience and time preferences can lead to more informed decision-making.

Steps

2 steps
  1. Assess time preferences
    Determine the individual's or organization's time preferences, including their level of impatience.
    Pro tipUse surveys or experiments to assess time preferences.
    WarningBe aware that time preferences can vary across individuals and contexts.
  2. Analyze the impact of impatience
    Analyze how impatience affects decision-making, particularly in situations involving uncertainty or negotiation.
    Pro tipConsider using decision trees or game theory models to analyze the impact of impatience.
    WarningBe careful not to oversimplify the situation by ignoring important factors that can influence decision-making.

Checklist

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Examples

1 cases
Business negotiation

A company is negotiating a contract with a supplier. The supplier's time preferences are uncertain, and the company needs to take into account their potential impatience to negotiate a better contract.

OutcomeThe company is able to negotiate a better contract by considering the supplier's potential impatience.

Common mistakes

2 traps
Ignoring impatience
Failing to account for impatience can lead to suboptimal decision-making.
Overestimating patience
Overestimating patience can lead to overly optimistic expectations about future outcomes.

Origin story

How this framework came to be

The concept of impatience and time preferences has been studied in various fields, including economics and psychology, to understand how individuals make decisions under uncertainty.

Source

Traced to primary
Source · BOOK
The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
Dixit, Avinash K. · 2008
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