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Make Better Decisions: 13 Mental Models for Team Managers (Udemy.com)

Learn how to lead your team more effectively using simple decision-making frameworks and tactics

Created by: Hassan Osman

Last updated August 2025

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What you will learn

  • Become a more effective leader and manager
  • Leverage mental models to think differently
  • Gain new insights into how you communicate, manage, and lead
  • Learn how to take better actions and pick wiser options

How it compares

Against the other 1,107 rated Udemy courses in Personal Development on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.4 out of 5higher than 20% of them
  • Reviews2,151#141 of 1,108 by number of reviews
  • Length1 hourshorter than 86% of them
  • Last updatedAugust 2025more recently than 57% of them

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Course Description

Learn easy mental models that help you think differently and give you new insights into how you communicate, manage, and lead.

This is a short course (approx. 60 minutes) that shows you how to make better decisions and become more effective at your job.


Master Simple Decision-Making Frameworks

  • Understand why a life motto can help you with the big decisions

  • Learn how to use your own version of intentional mistakes to make more informed decisions

  • Delegate the right way through situational awareness and focusing on the big picture

  • Analyze decisions by classifying them the right way

  • Scrutinize your data sources to avoid sample selection bias

  • Question why relevant processes are conducted a certain way

  • Understand the employee vector theory to ensure alignment among your team

  • Clarify your instructions so that they're well-understood by your employees


Mental models are frameworks that help you think in a different way. After taking this course, you'll learn how to take better actions and how to pick wiser options.



Content and Overview

The course contains over 15 lectures and 60 minutes of content. It is designed for any manager or leader who manages teams at medium to large-sized organizations. 

The course is delivered in a format that is easily digestible for busy professionals. Each video lecture covers one mental model and is around 5 minutes long.


Here's are the mental models that are covered in the course:


  • Mental Model 1: Start with a 7-Word Life Motto

  • Mental Model 2: Avoid Brown M&Ms

  • Mental Model 3: Delegate Like a Trauma Surgeon

  • Mental Model 4: Solve for Climate vs. Weather Problems

  • Mental Model 5: Leverage Musk’s Employee Vector Theory

  • Mental Model 6: Make One-Way Door Decisions for Chernobyl-Type Risks

  • Mental Model 7: Use Guide Dog Selective Disobedience

  • Mental Model 8: Avoid WWII Plane Survivorship Bias

  • Mental Model 9: Motivate Using the Kissinger Way

  • Mental Model 10: Avoid Being One of the 5 Monkeys

  • Mental Model 11: Give Sun Tzu Type Directions

  • Mental Model 12: Mitigate D-Day’s Cliff-Climbing Risk

  • Mental Model 13: Use Stories to Sell Olives



By the end of this course, you'll be armed with tactics that you can implement right away with your employees.

There are no requirements necessary to enroll in the course, and you can learn the material at your own pace.


Student Testimonials:

★★★★★ "Great match for me, I appreciate all the examples that I have already applied to my day-to-day decisions. Very interesting concepts which I have saved to review time and again since there was a lot to digest! Thank you." - Maureen Ring

★★★★★ "I was moved to set a goal using 7 words. It gave me an overview of what I wanted to do. Something I could focus on as direction." - Emil Carlo Albaladejo

★★★★★ "This has more than met my expectations. Thank you for a great course Make Better Decisions: 13 Mental Models for Team Managers, each has great presentation examples which all made for a really informative course." - Amit Kumar

★★★★★ "Whoa. Awesome. I learned a lot from this course, as the stories about the mental model helped put the concept into perspective. I enjoyed learning about new models I wasn't aware of and how I can benefit from using them. Very practical and well-thought-out presentation. How do I give it 6 stars?" - Corbin Stack



30-Day Money Back Guarantee

If you are not satisfied with the course for any reason, you may return the course within 30 days of the purchase date.


Ready to Start?

Click on the "Buy Now" or "Enroll Now" button on this page to start learning how to make better decisions today.

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Instructor Details

Hassan Osman

"Short courses for busy managers"

My name is Hassan Osman and I help busy business leaders and managers work more effectively with their teams.

My focus is on three main 'future of work' areas: managing in virtual & hybrid environments, using AI to improve productivity, and enhancing communication among team members.

I write about those topics in my free weekly newsletters, "Leadership 80/20" and "AI for Leaders."

A little about me:

Most recently, I was SVP of Professional Services at NWN Carousel (a $1B organization focused on enabling hybrid work), leading a team of 200+ project managers and engineers on delivering cloud communication services to our customers.

Previously, I was a Director at Cisco Systems, where I led project and program management teams on delivering complex projects for Cisco's customers.

Prior to Cisco, I was a manager at Ernst & Young, where I analyzed failing projects at Fortune 500 companies, and recommended solutions to fix them.  

I was also a research assistant at Harvard University, where I studied issues related to virtual teams. 

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Reviews

4.4

2,151 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Linda V. on 6/26/2026

I enjoyed this content. I would say the only way to improve would be some real world/up-to-date examples of how to implement different models for a team and which one(s) are most effective in a given situation. Most of the stories are for things that happened long ago and while they get the concept across, how do I apply a model in a software development environment where all team members are working remotely and are required to implement AI as part of their daily activities. As much as people might like me to, I can't chop the head off of AI.

By Siti Fatimah Abdul Ghani on 12/6/2024

This course on mental models provides a concise yet insightful approach to improving decision-making and leadership skills. In just 60 minutes, I gained practical tools that can be applied to both personal and professional settings. The course covers essential concepts such as situational awareness, the importance of intentional mistakes, and how to analyze decisions effectively. I particularly appreciated the emphasis on using life mottos and scrutinizing data sources to avoid biases. The focus on team alignment and clarifying instructions was also very helpful for improving communication and delegation. Overall, the training is a great introduction to mental models and offers actionable takeaways for becoming a more effective leader and decision-maker.

By Marco Rademeyer on 8/14/2023

I want to express my appreciation for the insightful and well-structured course. The content's clarity and directness, reminiscent of Sun Tzu's teachings, made the learning experience truly enjoyable. Your approach has not only enriched my understanding but also inspired further exploration. Thank you for your dedication to creating such a valuable learning content

By Anonymized User on 3/24/2023

The way the trainer delivers the concepts is very engaging and dynamic. Using stories and providing background in each of the courses is an excellent idea and it serves its objective, reinforcing the concept and engaging the trainee. I really enjoyed the course and will put the models in practice.

By Anonymized User on 3/24/2023

I thought the course was going to be too long or hard for me to remind each mental model. However, it's amazing, the stories were an exact match and an excellent "post it" for each model. At the end of the review, I remind ALL the mental models...you ROCK!!!!! Thank you, I appreciate your work :).

By Anonymized User on 12/22/2022

I liked a lot the way the models were presented with examples, stories, real cases, etc. I would have liked a one pager per mental model that we could download, also I would have liked to have more details in some of the models, that said, its very good course for an overview on what are these frameworks and how to use them.

By Yazeer Zeinudeen on 11/16/2022

This training was very well worth the time. Its short and to the point, extremely suitable for busy managers. Content is awesome, he always tells a story to begin with to explain the concept better, and then elaborates further on how this could be applied at work. Delivery of the presentation is fantastic and clear. Looking forward for more content like this.

By Jay Woda on 11/6/2022

Entirely to much self promoting. Unfamiliar w American rock bands. Takes 20 min to tell you 4 min worth of information

By Gary Hills on 10/15/2022

I have previous experience with learning from Hassan Osman in books, posts, and a previous Udemy course. So I expected valuable, succinct, and well-presented information that motivates to take action to improve one's life and career. And that is what I got. But even more, I learned the value of storytelling to sell the advice and make it memorable. As a busy team leader, I appreciate the value of this kind of learning experience.

By Eric Leventhal-Arthen on 10/14/2022

The set of short and clear video lessons are very good at presenting each of the mental models along with both a story about the origin of this way of describing the idea and examples of how you might use it in your life. The stories help to both provide context and make them memorable. It also becomes clear how the teacher has used these models well in developing this course. To get the most benefit you will need to go back to the ideas and work to integrate them, but as each one is short and understandable that is quite doable.

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Overall Score : 88 / 100