The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions

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Two things. I want them to be confident and I want them to be clear thinkers. It's challenging because I think as parents, a lot of people's first instinct is compliance. Children are difficult to raise, but I always come at it through the lens of: how do I want them to be in 20 years or 30 years as an adult? I want them to be independent and I want them to thrive, not just when they are under my roof, but when they are outside in the real world. And sometimes those are two competing interests, so I always try to lean on what I want them to be when they are adults. There’s a saying we have in the fighter pilot community: “As soon as you put on your helmet, you lose 20 IQ points.” And I think we've all felt like that at the moment. When you're giving a presentation at work or standing up in front of a large crowd, I think we've all felt a little bit dumber. To counter that, it’s all about training. Storytelling is the most powerful way of imparting knowledge. Outside of experiencing a lesson on your own, stories allow for context, which, combined with knowledge, produce understanding. With that in mind, I’ve drawn on many stories—some from my own time flying fighter aircraft, some from the business world, and some from key decisions throughout history to help illustrate the different aspects of the decision-making process and how they can be applied. I bought this book for €1 and was disappointed; I imagine it's much more of a let down at full price.)

As a former fighter pilot with two tours in Vietnam, I loved this book. For over a hundred years aerial combatants have shared their death defying stories. The examples Hasard shares, though, are more than simply exciting flying stories. When he describes rolling in with his gun and raining down 100 rounds per second on the bad guys to save U.S. lives, it’s not simply for braggadocio. It helps readers learn about resourcefulness and planning when lives are on the line. And it also helps the executive to deal with adversity in a fluid situation where millions of dollars are at stake in the C-Suite. This book is replete with examples from aviation and industry that will help you to make better decisions. I relished reading this book and wholeheartedly recommend it without reservation." —George Nolly, 315 combat missions over Vietnam, 24 Air Medals and 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, last pilot to complete 100 missions over North Vietnam, Author

Hasard Lee

The Art of Clear Thinking" is not merely a self-help book; it is a captivating journey that challenges readers to question their own cognitive processes and develop a mindset geared towards success. Lee's storytelling prowess, combined with his wealth of expertise, makes this book a game-changer for anyone striving to perform at their peak. Further chapters discuss ways to get more out of reading, thinking in and around the home about family and quotidian things, what kind of thinking is best at work, and, finally, he reminds the reader that thinking can be difficult, that accepting common ways of doing things (even if in error) is often easier. He concludes the book: “…Life’s problems are always new, and defy all ready-made solutions. That’s what makes life interesting.” Critical thinking is important in all subjects and disciplines – in science and engineering, as well as the arts and humanities. The types of evidence used to develop arguments may be very different but the processes and techniques are similar. Critical thinking is required for both undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study. What, where, when, who, why, how? Highlights key points in making tough decisions, with a strong emphasis on mental resilience & clarity. Then further underlines the importance of managing emotions effectively & provides a glimpse into mental-performance training programs that can enhance decision-making capabilities. Also stresses the need for prioritisation & decisiveness, drawing from historical examples, such as General Eisenhower's approach to task management during World War II--advises that a clear vision is essential to guide decision-making & disciplined, while focused action is vital to maximise impact of choices. Developing critical thinking skills is essential to your success at University and beyond. We all need to be critical thinkers to help us navigate our way through an information-rich world.

A crucial component in all of this, and which you cover extensively in the book, is mental toughness. By necessity and through training, you've cultivated a lot of it. What are some ways you keep yourself sharp?Flesch was born in Vienna, Austria. He fled to the United States to avoid the imminent invasion of the Nazis, to avoid Jewish prosecution. Once in America, he met Elizabeth Terpenning, whom he married. They had six children: Anne, Hugo, Jillian, Katrina, Abigal, and Janet. Flesch lived the majority of his life with his wife and children in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a small village in southern Westchester county. I couldn’t put it down. Even more than the heart-pounding fighter pilot stories, Hasard has some powerful and practical words of wisdom." To give you a sense of the speed at which these aircraft can fly, let me share a story from my time in an F-16. I was stationed in Korea, and there was a jet coming out of maintenance—the engine had been swapped out, and they needed a pilot to ensure it was airworthy. It was a clean jet—none of the typical missiles, bombs, targeting pod, or external fuel tanks were loaded. In effect, it was a stripped-down hot rod capable of its theoretical maximum speed. The second phase is choosing the correct course of action. One aspect of that is coming up with multiple solutions. In the Air Force, what we do to increase creativity — that's one thing that can give a high return for a little amount of effort — is come up with more solutions. A lot of people like to just jump to conclusions and start running towards a solution. But in the F-16, we have a thing that we teach new pilots: “There’s no problem so bad you can’t make it worse.” Whatever your discipline, you will engage with a wide variety of sources of information and evidence. You will develop the skills to make judgements about this evidence to form your own views and to present your views clearly.

Based on a career of making high-stakes, split-second decisions as a U.S. fighter pilot, The Art of Clear Thinking teaches readers to apply Hasard Lee's combat-tested techniques in everyday life.Dobelli examines our most common decision-making failings with engaging eloquence and describes how to counter them with instructive good sense.” (Robert Cialdini, author of Influence) There are several key stages involved in developing your ideas and constructing an argument. You might like to use a form to help you think about the features of critical thinking and to break down the stages of developing your argument. Most of the sections of this book also offered information that is easy to understand and apply to everyday life. If it seems hard to apply any of these topics, the author makes sure to explain how it can be used in real life situations. For example, the author explains “triangle breathing” and “box breathing” when describing the importance of staying mentally calm (Lee 214). As fighter pilots, we’ve been at the leading edge of decision-making theory since Air Force Colonel John Boyd developed the OODA—observe, orient, decide, act—loop based on his experiences flying missions during the Korean War. In the years since, other fighter pilot greats, such as Colonel John Warden and General David Deptula, have made significant contributions to the field. It’s a constantly evolving field that gives fighter pilots the best mental tools possible to solve the problems they encounter. Though we have talented pilots, the mantra that we bet our lives on is that a good pilot uses superior judgment to avoid situations that require the use of superior skill. Clean and clear decision-making will nearly always beat talent alone. At Mach 1.6, the jet began shaking: The extreme stress of the air resistance—over three hundred times what a car experiences at highway speeds—began causing the aluminum-alloy wings to flutter, sending vibrations throughout the plane. They were rapidly increasing at a rate that was not sustainable to the airframe.