In episode 402 of The Brainy Business podcast, Annie Duke, a former professional poker player and author of the book Quit, joins host Melina Palmer to discuss the psychology of quitting and decision-making under uncertainty. Annie's transition from an academic to a professional poker player and her subsequent work in decision science provide a unique and valuable perspective on the topic. Throughout the conversation, Annie challenges traditional perceptions of quitting and emphasizes its crucial role in winning and strategic decision-making.  She introduces concepts such as pre-mortems and the mental model of monkeys and pedestals, offering practical tools and frameworks for making better decisions. The episode provides valuable insights into reframing the mindset around quitting, the importance of understanding when to quit, and the potential impact of decision education in various domains. Annie Duke's diverse background and expertise in decision science make this episode a must-listen for entrepreneurs and business owners seeking to enhance their strategic decision-making skills and achieve increased business success. In this episode: Discover the strategic benefits of quitting in business to unlock new opportunities and growth potential. Implement behavioral economics in your business to enhance decision-making and drive better outcomes. Learn how to strategically identify when to quit for long-term business success and resilience. Explore the Monkeys and Pedestals decision-making model for insightful strategies to improve decision-making processes. Overcome analysis paralysis and make decisive, effective decisions to propel your business forward. Show Notes: 00:00:00 - Introduction The episode introduces Annie Duke and her book Quit about the psychology of quitting and decision-making. 00:01:15 - The Importance of Quitting Annie explains how winners often say no and quit things to succeed, emphasizing the need to know what to stick with, what to quit, and when. 00:04:47 - Annie's Background and Transition Annie shares her journey from academia to professional poker and behavioral psychology, highlighting how her poker career led her back to her cognitive science roots. 00:08:40 - The Power of Diverse Perspectives Annie discusses the value of diverse experiences in decision-making and problem-solving, emphasizing the importance of different frames of thinking to bring unique insights to the table. 00:12:05 - The Pre Mortem Skepticism Annie shares her research on pre-mortems, expressing skepticism about their effectiveness as standalone decision tools and the need to combine them with other strategies for improving decision quality. 00:14:18 - Normalize Dissent and Prospective Hindsight Daniel Kahneman's advice on normalizing dissent allows for consideration of both good and bad outcomes. Prospective hindsight can generate 30% more reasons for failure or success. 00:15:19 - Pre Parade and Pre Mortem Tools Pre-mortem exercises influence confidence and introduce self-serving bias. The pre parade increases overconfidence, while the pre-mortem leads to attributing bad outcomes to external factors. 00:18:43 - Challenges in Behavior Change Difficulty in getting people to change plans despite pre-mortem insights. Anecdotal observations and studies show resistance to plan modifications across various domains, raising questions about the effectiveness of the exercise. 00:19:55 - Group Dynamics and Real-world Impact Need for group testing of pre-mortems to understand the impact of group dynamics. Potential for behavior change in high-stakes environments like work projects. Studies underway to explore these aspects in real-world scenarios. 00:22:23 - Thinking in Bets and How to Decide Annie's books Thinking in Bets and How to Decide explore decision-making under uncertainty. They provide practical tools and insights, such as pre-mortems, to improve decision accuracy and overcome cognitive biases. 00:27:11 - The Impact of H