Risky Business

Making decisionscan be tough, but how do you know it’s the right one and how can you be surethat unconscious biases aren’t distorting your thinking?

InRisky Business, Anna Withers and MarkWithers draw on decades of research in the fields of psychology, behaviouraleconomics and neuroscience to explain why so-called rational brains arefrequently fooled by over 100 powerful unconscious biases. At the same timethey provide a straightforward framework everyone can use, where these biasesare embodied into eight memorable characters that help us to avoid thesepitfalls and make better decisions. All of us, even experts, are influenced bythese unconscious biases. We all get attached to relationships or ideas; we areprone to over-confidence or to serving up what others want to hear. We are allprone to use shortcuts to get us to the decision we want and are all influencedby our past experience and the knowledge we have accumulated. Using a wealth ofstories and anecdotes they introduce the reader to eight fascinating charactersthat help us to understand the workings of our unconscious mind. This book isan essential guide to anyone wanting to make better decisions.