THIS MONTH’S PAGE-TURNERS ON BUSINESS AND BEYOND

You have a hunch that your store’s fourth-quarter sales are down because of online shopping. You complete an analysis of shoppers who purchased online more often this quarter than last. The solution is simple: You need an online store, right? Wrong. You may have just solved a problem that didn’t exist; something else could be amiss. All too often, many engage in confirmation bias—making assumptions based on preexisting beliefs. Bias could affect important business and personal decisions. It could also lead to costly mistakes and missed opportunities. To gain a more balanced perspective, take a few steps back. Start with an empty canvas, or even better, that blank first page of a book.

This edition of Readers & Leaders sheds light on the foibles of decision making. Rockefeller International chairman Ruchir Sharma discusses why government’s predetermined solution to economic disaster won’t avert a crisis but contributes to one. Elspeth Kirman, Nesta’s chief program officer, highlights the impact of bias on constructive decision making and explains why the worst form of bias is inactivity. American University professor Aram Sinnreich shares why solely exploring data that support an argument rather than letting data drive discovery could be a recipe for failure. Read on to see how a more neutral viewpoint could help avert bias and improve outcomes.

Want early access to interviews? Download the McKinsey Insights app to read the latest Author Talks now.

it bears repeating

“Why is the number of start-up businesses in America declining? Why are economic and social mobility declining? These are issues that require serious introspection. Solutions are often offered. The easy fix is to ‘throw more money at the problem.’ If you keep doing that, you will repeatedly see more of the same issues you’ve seen over the last 20 to 30 years...”

—Ruchir Sharma, chairman of Rockefeller International and founder and chief investment officer of Breakout Capital, in a June edition of Author Talks.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

TURN BACK THE PAGE

Put your bias-busting skills to the test as you explore these interviews:

1. Think you’re foolproof? It could be hurting your decision making
2. How to remove unconscious bias from the workplace
3. Dismantling double standards in business with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin
4. Howard Friedman on getting the most from your data science team

BUSINESS BESTSELLERS TOP

8

Catch up on the latest and greatest reads for the month. Explore May’s business bestsellers, prepared exclusively for McKinsey by Circana. Check out the full selection on McKinsey on Books.

BUSINESS OVERALL

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Penguin Group USA)

BUSINESS HARDCOVER

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Penguin Group USA)

ECONOMICS

In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work by Kyla Scanlon (Random House)

DECISION MAKING

The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth by Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang (Penguin Group USA)

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (Penguin Group USA)

WORKPLACE CULTURE

Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact by Liz Wiseman (HarperCollins Publishers)

COMPUTERS & AI

What Is ChatGPT Doing . . . and Why Does It Work? by Stephen Wolfram (John Wiley & Sons)

SUSTAINABILITY

Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society by Arun Gupta, Gerard George, and Thomas J. Fewer (Stanford University Press)

If you’d like to propose a book or author for #McKAuthorTalks, please email us at Author_Talks@McKinsey.com. Due to the high volume of requests, we will respond only to those being considered.

—Edited by Emily Adeyanju, editor, Carolinas

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