irrational

This is big news for guys. For years, I’ve gently mocked my half of the species for being far-too-easily influenced by female images. Babes in bikinis alter male behavior, but it doesn’t always take that much. Simply including a photo of an attractive woman in a loan offer was enough to boost the response rate as much as a 4% lower interest rate (see A Pretty Woman Beats a Good Loan Deal). 

Written by: Laszlo Kovari

Yes, yes: we are irrational: we know this, but hey: this is life.

There is ALWAYS A VERY GOOD REASON behind 200 pairs of shoes in the wardrobe, behind hiring 53 highly compliant kids from Deloitte without life or any other experience but PP skills to “transform” our nation wide retail banking operation,

Have you ever annoyed a potential customer, or made her angry? Before you decide to ignore the faux pas and press forward with the pitch, or write her off and move on to greener pastures, try this simple technique: say, “I’m sorry”. That’s likely instinctive behavior for many of us, but at times it may seem easier to call no further attention to your words or action that aggravated the prospect.

Book Review: The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home by Dan Ariely

Nobody is doing more to add to our knowledge of the irrational side of human behavior than Dan Ariely. Not only does he conduct experiments that are elegant in their simplicity, but he writes about his work and that of other researchers in a highly accessible way. Upside is the successor to the bestselling Predictably Irrational, and it takes to new topics, ranging from CEO pay to speed dating.