Sway

The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

By: Rom Brafman, Ori Brafman

Narrated by: John Apicella

Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Like the best-selling Blink and Freakonomics, this lively narrative is a fresh view of the world, explaining the previously inexplicable and revealing hidden influences on human decision-making.

A Harvard Business School student pays over $200 for a $20 bill. Washington, D.C., commuters ignore a free subway concert by a violin prodigy. A veteran airline pilot attempts to take off without control-tower clearance and collides with another plane on the runway. Why do we do the wildly irrational things we sometimes do?

Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior, brothers Ori and Rom Brafman reveal the dynamic forces that act on us repeatedly over time, affecting nearly every aspect of our personal and business lives. They show how we are sabotaged by loss aversion (going to great lengths to avoid perceived losses), the diagnosis bias (ignoring evidence that contradicts our initial take on a person or situation), and commitment (even when a plan isn't working, we are reluctant to change course).

Weaving together colorful stories about dot-com millionaires, game-show audiences, NBA coaches, and the U.S. Supreme Court, this audiobook tours the flip side of reason and points us toward a more rational life.

©2008 Copyright © Ori and Rom Brafman. Recorded by arrangement with Currency/Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2008 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Brilliant." (Klaus Schwab, chairman of the World Economic Forum)
"Sway helped me recognize an aspect of irrational behavior in my experimental work in physics. Sometimes I have jumped into some research that didn't feel quite right...but some irrational lure, such as the hope of quick success, pulled me in." (Martin L. Perl, 1995 Nobel Laureate in physics)

Love this book

This is the second time listening after one time reading almost 9 years ago. So many insights but value attribution seems to stop me and the people I’m working with the most. Great book full of so much insight for any leader.

A must read!

Everyone needs to read this book. The world would be a much different place if everyone took the lessons from this book

Disappointing book

If you want to understand the reasons behind irrational behaviour, "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely" is a much better choice.

The authors of "Sway" preferred storytelling to detailed explanation to explain irrational behaviours. Although their stories are mildly entertaining, they lack the depth and details of Ariely's book. Unless you are looking for superficial answers to irrational behaviours, I would recommend you invest a few more hours in reading Ariely's book and get a much better understanding.

Rationally liked this book

Fans of Malcolm Gladwell (especially “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference,” 2000 and “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,” 2005) will appreciate Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman’s “Sway: The Irresistible Power of Irrational Behavior” I have all of Gladwell’s books. In hardback. And I really liked “Sway”. Actually, “Sway” was an easier read/listen. “Sway” has a lot more anecdotal stories to illustrate the points the Brothers Brafman are making.

My favorite chapter was Eight, “Dissenting Justice.” The Brafmans have the most thorough and easy to understand discussion of how the US Supreme Court reviews cases it decides to hear. The purpose of Supreme Courts conferences is to determine how the Court will rule, and the process – honed over hundreds of years – is to make rational decisions, and to respect the voices of dissent. Very few organizations, business or government, would have the time or discipline to engage in the same process – but a modified procedure, encouraging similar careful consideration of the facts, would be well applied used in corporate decision making processes.

Chapter Seven, “Cocaine and Compassion” was a close second to Chapter Eight. In “Cocaine and Compassion”, the Brafmans discuss the difference between pleasure center motivation (money, cocaine) and altruistic motivation. The bottom line is that people are more likely to cooperate and perform well for altruistic reasons – and, for biological reasons, the motivation is going to be either pleasure or altruism, but not both at the same time.

Altruism is discussed extensively in Adam Grant’s 2013 “Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success.” “Sway” was easier to understand, and I think I would have had an easier time with “Give and Take” if I’d read/listened to “Sway” first.

I liked parts of “Sway” so much, I listened to parts of it more than once.

The narration was good, but I could have done without the random music – I wasn’t sure what sections it was setting apart.

Phenomenal.

This book will change and enhance your perspective of the world. I highly recommend it.

Nothing new here

Nothing in this book not said better in thinking fast and slow and even the art of thinking clearly

Interesting and informative read

If you could sum up Sway in three words, what would they be?

I like it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sway?

Too hard to choose.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much to absorb in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

Good information about how we all make decisions. Helpful in keeping our heads properly attached... even if we aren't always able to.

good read

The book was an interesting book with some good studies of groups making decisions. It gives some great suggestions on how not to follow the herd.

Very interesting. Worth reading.

Good narration. An enjoyable read! Illuminates reasons poor decisions are made and how to correct them. It shows how no one is immune.

terrific

I really enjoyed listening to Sway. The authors gave great examples of poor decision making They backed up the examples by laying out a "research supported" framework that helped explain what caused these bad decisions to occur. Further, they also laid out frameworks of decision making designed to avoid making poor decision. Narration was solid.