Nudge – Improving decisions

I was reading this book by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein entitled “Nudge” – in the book they evaluate choices, biases and the limits of human reasoning from several perspectives. They tell stories about how they trick themselves to becoming victims of the very limitations of thought that they are describing. This is telling, because the very fact that these educated, articulate professionals can trick themselves (even though they know what is happening) demonstrates how tough it is to think clearly. We fall prey to systematic errors of judgment all the time – however, one of the ways of harnessing this issue is to help others make better decisions.

Case Study: Family Business Succession

An entrepreneur’s son questions whether to follow in his father’s footsteps. In October 2009, Michael Plummer Jr. delivered the eulogy at the funeral of his father, Michael Sr., who had died of a heart attack. A few days later, he walked into his father’s office, sat down at the ornate wooden desk, and signed paychecks…