Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed, and How We Can Stick to the Plan

Summary

Psychologist and Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino has long studied the factors at play when judgment and decision-making collide with the results of our choices in real life. In Sidetracked, she explores inconsistent decisions played out in a wide range of circumstances from our roles as consumers and employees (what we buy, how we manage others) to the broader human choices that we make (who we date, how we cultivate friendships). Gino’s research reveals when a mismatch is most likely to occur between what we want to do and what we actually end up doing. What factors are likely to sway our decisions in directions we did not initially consider? And what can we do to correct for these subtle influences?

The answers in Sidetracked to these and similar questions help us better understand the nuances of our decisions and avoid the unconscious obstacles to greater efficiency, satisfaction, and ultimate success.