Merry, merry, merry, whatever it is you’re celebrating this weekend!

We’re taking a couple weeks off so we can recharge after basically going non-stop since March, so no questions this weekend, just a few interviews.

What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? If you're like most people, you probably make a pro and con list, spend a lot of time obsessing about decisions that didn't work out, get caught in analysis paralysis, endlessly seek other people's opinions to find just that little bit of extra information that might make you sure, and finally go with your gut.

What if there was a better way to make quality decisions so you can think clearly, feel more confident, second-guess yourself less, and ultimately be more decisive and be more productive?

That's the gist of our recent conversation with Annie Duke, author of How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices.

In hour two we’ve got a couple in-studio interviews we conducted just days before the pandemic hit.

In Don’t Be Evil, Financial Times global business columnist Rana Foroohar tells the story of how Big Tech lost its soul, and ate our lunch.

“Don’t be evil” was enshrined as Google’s original corporate mantra back in its early days, when the company’s cheerful logo still conveyed the utopian vision for a future in which technology would inevitably make the world better, safer, and more prosperous.

Unfortunately, it’s been quite a while since Google, or the majority of the Big Tech companies, lived up to this founding philosophy. 

Next up is Robin Dreeke.

After two decades as a behavior analyst in the FBI, Dreeke knows a thing or two about sizing people up. He's navigated complex situations that range from handling Russian spies to navigating the internal politics at the Bureau. 

Through that experience, he was forced to develop a knack for reading people, their intentions, their capabilities, their desires and their fears.

In Sizing People Up, Dreeke shares his simple, six-step system that helps you predict anyone's future behavior based on their words, goals, patterns of action, and the situation at hand.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.

Despite stock market indexes reaching all-time highs, American businesses are falling to new lows. The reason is that the golden age of US innovation and capitalism has given way to what our guest Rana Foroohar calls "financialization.” Rana is the Time business and economics columnist and author of "Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business." The book divides the American business world into "Makers," those companies that serve the real economy by providing capital and investing in long-term growth and "Takers," those who use financial engineering to juice short-term profits and as a result, enrich their shareholders and themselves.

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How did we go from the simple explanation of banking that Jimmy Stewart provided in "It's A Wonderful Life" ("The money's not here [in the bank]. Your money is in Joe's house that's right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house and Mrs. Macklin's house and a hundred others") to a world where only about 15 percent of all the money in our system actually ends up in the real economy?  Rana notes that the 40-year process has culminated in the financial sector holding "a disproportionate amount of power in sheer economic terms. It represents about 7 percent of our economy but takes around 25 percent of our economy of all corporate profits, while creating only 4 percent of all jobs."

And if you have an MBA or are thinking of getting one, you might be interested in knowing that "an increasing number of business educators at top schools are concerned that MBA programs are churning out number crunchers without a conscience." Before you get too depressed, listen to the whole interview, because Rana notes "Despite all our problems, America is still the prettiest house on the ugly block that is the global economy." There are also some interesting policy shifts that could occur that would remedy the trend.

Callers/Listener E-Mails:

If you are interested in starting your own business, check out my conversation with Barbara, who is trying to decide whether or not to start a private practice. We discuss the Social Security Windfall Elimination for Scott, the use of fixed annuity for Deanna and robo advisors for Andrew.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio