Being able to make decisions when you know you have imperfect data is so critical. I was always taught that “A good decision now is better than a perfect decision in two days.” Many people I know in business recoil at that statement. Many colleagues in graduate school had come from places where t...

When you start in your career, you may sometimes feel as if you're languishing. You may feel a lack of meaning and a desire to belong emotionally.

Languishing thoughts may include:

• "I'd rather do something else, but I don't know what."

Rubin's approach is to simply present a problem, optimally in a sentence or two. You can too. For example:

• "We're struggling to meet ship dates. What do you think we should do differently?"
• "Our error rate is up significantly. What do you think we should do to improve quality?"...