Boundary Rules for Lawbreakers and Moviemakers

Kathleen Eisenhardt, Stanford University

Stanford Professor Kathleen Eisenhardt, co-author of “Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World,” describes the concept of “boundary rules,” which aid decision-making in situations requiring a “yes” or “no,” when options are mutually exclusive or too many alternatives exist. She shows how burglars and moviemakers alike use boundary rules to guide their decisions.