I’m rereading Think Twice by Michael Mauboussin. One concept he mentions that I’ve been thinking about this week is attributional charity, which means that interpreting others’ behavior empathetically instead of jumping to negative conclusions or morally judging them.

Mauboussin discussed this because he believes that situations play a big role in people’s decision-making processes. Many of us don’t consider or give proper weight to the situation when critiquing other people’s decisions. But when we explain our own decisions, we lead with how the situation justifies them.

Mauboussin shares a few ideas on how to think about the influence of situations on decision-making. One of them is to consider the situation first and the individual second. That is, when evaluating others’ decisions, begin by understanding the situation they’re in and then assess them and their decisions. Not the other way around.

Very interesting concept that I want to incorporate more going forward.