Rules of Thumb
44 Principles to Live, Work, and Thrive By
8 December 2026
Territory Rights — Worldwide including Canada, Singapore and Malaysia, but excluding the British Commonwealth.
Description
A stylish, timeless guide to laws and principles that can help us make decisions and navigate our everyday lives.
There are laws of nature—like gravity, thermodynamics, and Newtonian principles—that help explain our reality. And then there are rules of thumb, many of which cannot be scientifically proven and yet are clearly true. Pocket-sized, practical, and studded with whimsical illustrations, this small but mighty book offers us forty-four of the best unwritten laws and mental models for posterity.
These include:
- Parkinson’s law, which says that any meeting, project, or task will take at least as much time as you’ve allotted for it.
- The Pareto Principle, which explains how 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
- And Murphy’s Law, which dictates that if something can go wrong, it will .?.?.
Some of these truisms are world-famous; some well-kept secrets. Some are tongue-in-cheek; others imbue wisdom. But they all have one thing in common: They illuminate working life better than any MBA. From KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) to the IKEA Effect (we’re partial toward things we’ve had a hand in making), these models will help you manage your time, make smarter decisions, and survive anything the world throws at you.
Also By: Mikael Krogerus 
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Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler have tested the 44 most important communication theories and distilled them in book form, alongside clear and entertaining illustrations.
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Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler have tested the 44 most important communication theories and distilled them in book form, alongside clear and entertaining illustrations.
The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
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An updated edition of the international bestseller that distills into a single volume the fifty best decision-making models.The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
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Also By: Roman Tschäppeler
To Do: 41 Tools to Start, Stick With, and Finish Things
Hardback, 2024
The techniques you need to stop procrastinating and start getting things done, from the authors of the international bestseller The Decision Book.The Communication Book: 44 Ideas for Better Conversations Every Day
Hardback, 2020
Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler have tested the 44 most important communication theories and distilled them in book form, alongside clear and entertaining illustrations.The Communication Book: 44 Ideas for Better Conversations Every Day
E Book, 2020
Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler have tested the 44 most important communication theories and distilled them in book form, alongside clear and entertaining illustrations.The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
Fully Revised Edition, Hardback, 2018
An updated edition of the international bestseller that distills into a single volume the fifty best decision-making models.The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
Fully Revised Edition, E Book, 2018
An updated edition of the international bestseller that distills into a single volume the fifty best decision-making models.