Niccolò Machiavelli and the Four Princes of Pragmatism
To top off the course The Moral Leader, Professor Badaracco’s students dissect Niccolo Machiavelli’s chilling classic The Prince. “You may think that’s an odd place to end what …
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The High Cost of Distractions
We tend to think that other people get distracted but not us. We’re different. We’re better than average. We can do more than one thing at a time and still be amazing. Not so. The …
The decline of Berkshire Hathaway’s stock from Triple-A status
From Alice Schroeder’s new chapter: THE CRISIS: The decline of Berkshire Hathaway’s stock from Triple-A status in the updated (and condensed) version of The Snowball. As the financial …
The Murder of Kitty Genovese and The Bystander Effect
Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, a New York City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York on March 13, 1964. Genovese was buried in a family …
The Famous Game Show Problem
Ahh, the famous game show problem (also known as The Monty Hall Problem). This is a probability puzzle you’ve heard of: Suppose you’re on a game show, and you’re given the choice of …
Warren Buffett and the Power of Nontransitive Dice
In a terrific book by William Poundstone, Fortune’s Formula: The Untold Story of the Scientific Betting System that Beat the Casinos and Wall Street, is the story of a 1968 dinner meeting …
Three Questions to Remove Ego from Decision Making
Here are three questions leaders can ask to help make better decisions. 1. How will this decision make things better for the organization? Consider how the decision will affect the …
Bertrand Russell: On Avoiding Foolish Opinions
Want to steer clear of foolishness? Bertrand Russell has some timeless advice that can help. While it won’t make you infallible, his practical tips can go a long way in identifying and avoiding …
Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments
We tend to feel we’re more able and smarter than we really are. We think we’re above average drivers, we’re above average investors, and we make better decisions than everyone else. …
Social Dilemmas: When to Defect and When to Cooperate
Social dilemmas arise when an individual receives a higher payoff for defecting than cooperating when everyone else cooperates. When everyone defects they are worse off. That is, each member has a …
Dan Ariely on 10 Irrational Human Behaviors
Predictably Irrational is a fascinating examination of why human beings are wired and conditioned to react irrationally. We human beings are a selfish bunch, so it’s all the more surprising to …
Social Proof: Why We Look to Others For What We Should Think and Do
“Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” — Walter Lippmann “The five most dangerous words in business are: ‘Everybody else is doing it.'” — Warren Buffett *** …
Bruce Pandolfini Teaches Thinking, Not Chess
Bruce Pandolfini doesn’t have an MBA but he knows more about strategy than most people. Pandolfini is one of the most sought-after chess teachers in the world. He’s also one of the most …
Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
Noah Goldstein’s, Steve Martin’s and Robert Cialdini’s Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive is a pop psych book, where a bunch of research in psychology is distilled …
Mental Model: Anchoring
We often pay attention to irrelevant information when making decisions. One way this can play out is in the form of ‘anchoring.’ When we make an estimate, we can end up using irrelevant information as …
Charlie Munger Explains Why Bureaucracy is not Shareholder Friendly
Charlie Munger, the billionaire partner of Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, explains why bureaucracy is not shareholder friendly: The great defect of scale, of course, which makes the game …