The “Nixon Shock”: How shocking was it? Was it unilaterally done by the executive branch? Did economists agree with it? What effect did it have, especially on everyday people’s lives?

I searched and I found only a very old answer on this topic, and I’m curious about where the idea came from, how it was done, and how shocking it was at the time. For no special reason, I am curious about what seems to me like an almost unilateral move by one guy who happened to be president which maybe disrupted the entire world’s economic order.