Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour

by: Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman

You’re about to enter a building. You push the door, but nothing happens. You push again. You look straight at a sign that says “PULL”, but you push one more time.

The batteries on the remote control are dead, but you jam on the buttons a little harder while watching TV, hoping the channels will change anyhow.

You meet someone who doesn’t speak your language. You know they won’t understand anything you say, but maybe yelling and enunciating will help.

Why do we continue to follow irrational behavior when contrary evidence is clearly in front of us? In the new book “Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior” by Ori Brafman  and Rom Brafman, you’ll see how unrelated happenings explain the strangest actions.

You’re in control of your business and your life. Nothing can dissuade you from any decision you think is right… right? According to Brafman and Brafman, you can make decisions, but they might not be the best ones. Despite your convictions, you may fall victim to several different kinds of what they call “sway”. Briefly, it’s when your beliefs and commitments overrule rationality.

Do you ever buy a jumbo-size product to save a few pennies, even when the regular size would’ve been enough?  The authors call that loss aversion: people tend to overreact to loss, particularly money. If you bought the smaller, more manageable size, you might’ve perceived a “loss” of money. The same phenomena is similarly seen when investors are unwilling to let go of an “I’ll hold off selling until the market comes back” mode of thinking, and lose their fortunes as the stock tanks.

Which brings us to the second sway: commitment.  Stick with a strategy too long, and it’s hard to let it go, no matter how wrong it may be. The authors show how that happens in sports and in business. 

Value attrition (if something’s free, it’s less valuable); a diagnosis bias (the propensity to label people and situations, a bad idea in interviews), and relying on arbitrary information all sway thinking and influence decisions, good and bad.

But that’s not all. Sway can be used on others, too. One word can completely change someone’s perception. Culture can influence sway, as can being the lone voice of dissent. We can even sway others to match our beliefs about them.

I love a book that makes me think.

From the impressions we get from listening to phone conversations, to proof that a swinging bridge is an aphrodisiac, “Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior” is irresistible reading. Authors Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman start each chapter with a thought and meander through to make their point, poking and delighting your brain the entire way.

It’s almost impossible to not see yourself in this book somewhere. It’s almost impossible not to change your behavior. And it’s almost impossible to put this book down once you start it.

In business and in life, you owe it to yourself to think smart. Start by picking up this book. “Sway” is way fascinating.

Posted in: Personal Skills, Psychology