Humans can be overconfident, emotional, and irrational even when making important decisions. This is the premise of two new books on decision making. The first, Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed and How We Can Stick to the Plan, by Harvard professor and psychologist Francesca Gino, explains why we often end up doing the opposite of what we intend when we make decisions.  Gino cites insidious social bonds, overly narrow focus, and irrelevant information as some factors that cloud our decisions.

Another book set for March release is Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, explains why simple awareness of our decision-making derailers will not fix them. As they put it, knowing we are nearsighted does not help us see better.

Both books review research that confirm that many decisions, including management and leadership decisions, are made for irrational reasons. Some of these reasons are well-known but bear repeating. We tend to gather research that confirms our biases. We tend to be overly optimistic about the future, and we let emotions play too big a role in decisions.  Both books also offer advice on overcoming the human foibles that can derail good decisions.