If you’ve ever stared at a big decision — a career move, a tricky workplace dilemma, even a personal choice — and wished someone would just hand you the answer, you’re not alone. Most of us treat doubt like an alarm bell telling us to back away. In Radical Doubt, Bobby Parmar, a longtime professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, makes a bold and refreshing case for doing the opposite: leaning into those uncomfortable moments because they’re where the real growth happens.

Parmar has spent nearly two decades teaching leadership, innovation and ethics. He’s watched his students and executives alike ace the technical problems yet stumble when things get messy and ambiguous. This book grew out of that observation. Instead of offering another “decision-making formula,” he invites you to bring your whole self — your values, instincts, competing priorities — to the table. Doubt, he argues, isn’t a flaw. It’s a signal to get curious, to ask better questions, to test assumptions before you act.

One of the most memorable ideas in Radical Doubt is treating your intuition as a hypothesis, not a conclusion. It sounds simple, but it changes everything. Suddenly you’re not stuck defending your first impression; you’re experimenting, learning and improving. Parmar shows how to do this both in life and at work with practical tools — writing out your “recommendations” before making a choice, running pre-mortems on projects to surface risks, rewarding learning and effort instead of just results.

He also tackles the subtle forces that make doubt harder today, like social media’s “addiction to feeling right.” When everything around us is built to confirm our existing beliefs, feeling uncertain can be painful. Parmar reframes that pain like the burn of a good workout: uncomfortable but necessary to get stronger.

Although the book is grounded in research from psychology, philosophy and business, it never feels dry. Parmar writes with warmth and humor (his family apparently vetoed plenty of jokes that didn’t land), and his examples feel real and relatable. You can see yourself in the stories — a leader trying to guide a team through change, a professional weighing a new role, or simply a person trying to make better everyday decisions.

At its heart, Radical Doubt is a guide to continuous learning. It reminds us that our beliefs and assumptions need updating throughout life, especially during moments of stress or transition. And it offers a hopeful message: the ability to navigate uncertainty isn’t a fixed trait some people are born with. It’s a skill you can practice and strengthen.

Whether you’re a CEO making high-stakes calls or someone at a crossroads in your personal life, Radical Doubt gives you the tools — and the courage — to turn hesitation into progress. It’s not just a book about making better decisions. It’s an invitation to rethink how you grow.