Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman is one of the most interesting books I have read this year. Most people probably would not see themselves overall as irrational. They might even believe they have the ability to avoid making irrational decisions. In their book, the Brafman brothers explore the fasicinating psyschology and social and cultural stuctures that influence how we respond to situations and influence choices we make.
I highly recommended this for anyone in a leadership role or anyone who works in a school. From this book leaders will better understand the why behind the difficulites in their organization. A few of the “sways” the Brafman brothers address are: loss aversion, value attrbution, and the diagnosis bias. As an educator, I found the chapter on diagnosis bias eye opening and it made me reflect upon the judgments I have made about students and even colleagues in the past and it has better informed me to avoid those judgments in the future.
This book is easy to read and the writers string together various stories and studies in each chapter to explain the forces behind the different “sways”/ irrational behaviors and the consquences of those behaviors to yourself and others. It is harder than we might be willing to accept to avoid irrational behaviors, but maybe becoming more aware will prevent us from becoming swayed.