Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
Book Review: Sway - a Worthy Read
Summary: 4 Stars
Each chapter of SWAY is a complete thought and a fast read. I could identify myself or others in each one. I do a lot of work with large groups and have found that each group has all the architypes in it... the exemplar who knows too much; the over committed, the labeler; the doubter and dream killers; the visionaries and the engineers. Each of the characters in this book are in any group. I will return to SWAY each time I do another large group event to remind myself to be aware of how the decisions of the group might be getting trapped by some of the habits and assumption mentioned in the book. My work will be better for having read this book.
Book Review: Easy Read in the style of The Tipping Point
Summary: 3 Stars
Have you ever driven through a snowstorm, against all logic, to get to a meeting? Held onto a tanking stock? Passed up a designer bag at a yard sale? Reading Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior may help you understand why. An easy read in the style of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Sway uses anecdotes and popular psychology research to outline some common behavioral pitfalls.
Although the book lacks in-depth analysis and contradictory research to be considered serious academic fair, it gives familiar examples of illogical actions in the face of mounting evidence. Sway explains concepts like loss aversion, commitment, diagnosis bias and value attribution and how they play out in individuals and groups. (For more info on value attribution and designer fashion, read Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster .)
Personally, I appreciated the reminder of how important dissenters are, even if the dissenters are wrong, and how "stay the course" can be the worst option of all.
Book Review: "The Praise for Sway is printed in red on the backcover disclaimer!!!"
Summary: 3 Stars
"Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior", by Ori & Rom Brafman, Doubleday, NY 2008. ISBN: 978-0-385-52438-4, HC 206/181 Notes 13 pgs., Index 6 pgs., 8 ½" x 6".
A short book by two brothers, one a psychologist, written for general consumption. Basically, we are told that hidden mental influences "sway" our decision-making so the writers take great effort to supply those underlying influences, weaving and inter-weaving stories of tragedy, etc., with underlying mechanisms they recite as responsible. Some of their conjectures appear factual or possible, but in others we would have us fantasize at great length to believe their explanations of these mysteries.
All in all, one would have to be swayed excessively to believe these apparent concoctions have verifiable truths; for recounting a couple of interesting psychological clinical studies is not sufficient to make them come true, as that is magical thinking. Their general treatment of psychology is superficial, exuding an excess of simplicity. Both the human mind and behavior are complex and difficult to predict. If simplistic, we would not need to have so many psychologists, psychiatrist and social workers dealing with the populace.
All in all, their writings may have some importance, but the present work is not designed for anything more than entertainment.
Book Review: Good, but there are some better
Summary: 4 Stars
I think it is a bit of a misclassification to compare this to Blink or Freakonomics. Blink is not so much about classifying types of reasoning errors and Freakonomics is really about investigative statistical analysis than pure human thought processes. But there are several other similar books that have emerged in the last year.
If I had to pick one book on this topic I would choose How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business by Hubbard. Although Hubbard deals deals with the even broader topic of measuremeant and estimation he still gives more substantial information on human biases and how they affect our estimates and decisions. After that I place On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not and Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions as near equals on the topic.
Unlike Hubbard, the authors of Sway spend too much time on anecdotes and not enough time on the aggregate facts and statistics. Selected examples are useful for making a point but only if there is measured evidence backing up the claim that the example is somehow representative of a broader population. I would recommend reading at least one or two of the other book's I just mentioned to see the contrast.
Book Review: definitely worth checking out.
Summary: 5 Stars
i read ori's previous book starfish and the spider which was a bit all over the place but an interesting look at how decentralized organizations succeed. i was excited to get his new book and was not disappointed. he is like the newer version of malcolm gladwell, tying in really interesting stories to cover this topic of irrational decision making and why we do it. many great examples and he does a good job of giving you specific take aways to think about in how we each make our own decisions.