Foreword

Right from the front cove, this book challenges us. The very notion of Never Go with Your Gut seems anathema at a time when so many are telling us to do the exact opposite: “Trust your instincts,” “Go with your intuition,” and make decisions in a “blink,” or rely on “what you feel.” We are choosing leaders based on how they make us feel, rather than what they know and can do. Of course, understanding our emotional reactions is valuable, and there may, in fact, be times when our instincts are on point and where quick decisions work out, but as Gleb Tsipursky has shown us in this valuable text, that is often just plain dumb luck, and more often can lead to challenges, problems, or even disaster.

Gleb has done an excellent job of helping us understand why “gut instincts” are severely limited as a way to make important life decisions. He breaks down our all-too-human thinking in a way that helps us understand that the very instincts we use are actually designed for another time in human evolution. It's not that our automatic way of thinking is never valuable. As Daniel Kahneman has been known to say, when you are driving and the car in front of you stops short, and their tail lights come on, it's not the time to go to your “intentional” brain and contemplate what the best thing to do is in the situation. That is a recipe for ending up in the back seat of the car in front of you.

However, the challenge is that the most important of life's decisions are best made with more thoughtful consideration of the situation at hand, the options available, and the predictable outcomes of our decisions. All of us, of course, know this. We have all made the mistake of going with the quick decision, the one that “feels” right only to find that dating that person, taking that job, making that investment, or voting for that person was probably not such a great idea. And how many times have we looked back only to see clearly in hindsight all of the clues that were right in front of us, shouting out what a bad idea it was...yet we did it anyway.

The thing I like about Gleb's work, and particularly the way he approaches it in this book, is that he demonstrates his own work in the way he shares it with us. This is not a book written by an author who is just opining about his point of view. Gleb meticulously builds his case by thoughtfully sharing the psychology and cognitive neuroscience behind his premise. He helps us understand why we do what we do, how it impacts us, and how we can make better decisions in a way that has us not only moved to take action but also understand why it is so important that we do.

Gleb gives great insight, from a scientific perspective, as to what causes us to make bad decisions, how our instincts may steer us wrong, and how to think in ways that are likely to create better results. He describes a pathway to making better decisions through understandable models that we can put to use every day, and even gives us exercises that cause us to develop a better understanding of why we do what we do, and how to do it better.

Gleb Tsipursky has given us a handbook for good decision-making. He has written a fascinating book, drawn from a broad range of intellectual understanding and perspectives. More importantly, it is a practical book that will help any reader make better decisions, especially the important ones, and impact their lives, their relationships, and their businesses in a positive way, including financially.

In a world in which we see leaders making terrible decisions, based on all of the wrong motivations, Gleb gives us hope that we can find a way to think carefully, choose wisely, and thrive because of it.

I, for one, am glad he wrote it, and I hope that business leaders and politicians alike read it and take it to heart. It will make them better. It will make all of us better.

—Howard J. Ross
Author of Our Search for Belonging,
Everyday Bias, and ReInventing Diversity