Born in Atlanta, Phil Kimble went to school
in Utah, lived for 2 years in LA, then moved back to Atlanta. He and his
wife Julie live in Conyers. Mr. Kimble is an avid motorcyclist and
competitive distance runner.
Q: Congratulations on the release of your
book, The Art of Making Good Decisions.
What was your inspiration for it?
A: Writing
is a hobby for me, not a profession. The
reason I decided to write a book on this topic is that I saw in
non-professional group settings, and with individuals, a need to learn how to
make straight-forward decisions, rather than simply staring at a list of
possible choices, or throwing a dart.
The concepts in the book are relatively established quantitative
approaches that have been adapted to personal and group purposes.
Q: Why was the writing of this book important
for you?
A: I was watching my daughter struggle with a
life decision about a college major, and I wondered why it was such a difficult
challenge for her, why she couldn’t use decision models I have used in my
professional career. On the other hand,
I saw in my professional career many instances where the only thing that was
considered was the metrics of the choices, and wondered why the people involved
couldn’t be more intuitive. On both
sides of the coin, it appeared that way too much time and emotion was invested
in the struggle of a decision because of their narrow approaches. If there was a way both the subjective and
the objective could be wrapped together in the decision process, such an
approach would be beneficial to both the individual and the organization. The quantitative principles in the book are
simplified and easy for the subjective person to apply, and the subjective
principles are flags for even the most rigid organization. Hopefully both will benefit.
Q: How was your creative process like during
the writing of this book and how long did it take you to complete it? Did you
face any bumps along the way?
A: About 2 years. After I decided on the original concept, I
would simply record ideas for chapters as those ideas came to me. Then I would become more specific, recording
ideas for segments of each chapter. It was somewhat like constructing a building,
where it went from idea to conceptual drawings to blueprints to construction. Given that I am a business professional, I
did not have the luxury of spending unbroken time on the project, which I
think, in the end, was the best approach.
I spent the first 18 months
gathering info and ideas, assembling and providing structure. The last 6-9 months was writing.
Q: What is the one thing you hope readers
will take away from your book?
A: A way to make and execute even the most
difficult personal and professional decisions, and to be confident and hopeful
of the outcome.
Q: What discoveries or surprises did you
experience while writing this book?
A: Some of the data, especially regarding
marriage and divorce, which was more dramatic than I first supposed. It would be expected that online dating would
lead to better long-term relationships than, say, meeting in a bar, but the
size of the statistical gap was unexpected.
Q: How do you define success as an author?
A: I don’t define it, for me, as
producing a commercially valuable product.
I suppose if you can take it from beginning to the final page, you are a
success. There are a lot of people who
say “I have an idea for a book” and that’s about as far as it goes.
Q: Could you talk a little bit about your
publishing process?
A: Self-publishing
print-on-demand (there needs to be an acronym for this, let’s call it SPOD)
requires a bit more technical capacity than one might expect, but it is
relatively painless. It is a two-edge
sword, however. You are in control of
the product, but because you are doing the heavy lifting regarding the editing,
you are liable to miss several small mistakes, and the end product might not be
as polished as you would like..
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring nonfiction
writers? Could you offer some tips or resources that have been helpful to you?
A: Write because you enjoy it.
Q: Anything
else you’d like to tell my readers?
A: Don’t be afraid to write a book. Don’t worry about its commercial success. Write because you enjoy it.
Title: The Art of Making Good Decisions
Genre: Self Help/Personal Growth/Self-Improvement
Author: Philip Kimble
About the Book:
Feeling stumped, stymied, or stupefied by a big (or small) decision? A new book, The Art of Making Good Decisions takes the guesswork out of common decision-making quandaries and explains how to make good, solid, choices—easily, quickly, and consistently.
Sources estimate that an individual makes more than 30,000 conscious decisions each day. While most decisions are relatively minor—researchers at Cornell University suggest that persons typically make over 200 decisions a day on food alone—decisions, even the small ones, matter. Consequently, being able to make consistently good, solid decisions is vitally important to our well-being, our livelihood, and our happiness.
Written by Atlanta area resident Philip Kimble, The Art of Making Good Decisions, explains how—and why—to make good decisions. A groundbreaking book filled with fascinating insights, tips, tricks and techniques, The Art of Making Good Decisions sheds light on such topics as: the three driving elements to any decision; elements of the decision model sequence; the key component behind bad decisions; how to recognize a good decision; what happens when decisions need to be tweaked—aka zigging and zagging; becoming a more confident decision maker; and other important topics. Moreover, The Art of Making Good Decisions is filled with step-by-step examples, sage advice, and anecdotes.
So the next time you find yourself frustrated, flummoxed, or frazzled when facing a decision, take heart: by applying the principles outlined in The Art of Making Good Decisions, you can begin your transition from inaction to decisiveness and bring sense and clarity to choices. Now that’s a good decision.
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