The World's Best Book Summaries
Why does imagining the future increase happiness? Why do fabrications of the future tend to look more positive than the past or present? In his book Stumbling on Happiness, social psychologist Daniel Gilbert explores how and why your brain attempts to fabricate the future. He also discusses the limitations the brain encounters while trying to do so and how it overcomes them. Here’s how and why your brain imagines the future.
Why do people continue to make bad choices despite tons of advice on how to avoid them? How does your fabricated reality lead you to make poor decisions? Daniel Gilbert, the author of Stumbling on Happiness, has a theory about why this happens. Gilbert believes that your brain fabricates beliefs about your past, present, and future that don’t always align with reality. Gilbert’s theory is that this fabricated reality leads you to make decisions about the future that aren’t conducive to happiness. Here are the reasons people make bad choices, according to social psychologist Daniel Gilbert.
What makes a winning business strategy? What factors should you take into account when designing a big-picture strategy for your business? It’s one thing to set goals for your company, but it’s another thing to know how to reach those goals. The path towards your goals is your strategy. An effective business strategy is one that is built from the ground up. Here’s a seven-step process for creating a strategy for success.
Do you have a vision for the future? Do you make present-day decisions based on how you think you’ll feel later? Social psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains in his book Stumbling on Happiness that, when you make life choices based on how you assume you’ll feel in the future, you tend to make poor choices. Your first mistake is assuming that you’ll feel the same in the future as you do now. Here’s why people tend to make choices they regret in the future.
What are the benefits of a free-market economy? What are the main arguments given in favor of the free market? In his book What Money Can’t Buy, philosopher Michael Sandel argues that free-market societies are immoral and create corruption. He starts his book by explaining the three arguments that defenders of the free market often make: the efficiency argument, the utilitarian argument, and the libertarian argument. We’ll go over each of the three arguments below.
What are some of the best idea-driven books? What’s so great about C. S. Lewis? What movie is just as good as the book? Elizabeth could tell you. Based in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, she’s a blog writer at Shortform. We interviewed her recently to learn a bit about her love-love relationship with books.
Is Lafley and Martin’s Playing to Win worth reading? Are the tips in the book still relevant today? In their book Playing to Win, former CEO A.G. Lafley and consultant Roger Martin explain the steps for developing a successful business strategy. When the two worked together at Procter & Gamble, they used this approach to double the company’s sales and market capitalization. Here’s our Playing to Win book review, including background and critical reception by the readers.
When you think about your future, do you assume that you’ll want lots of variety in life? Does variety make you happier? According to social psychologist Daniel Gilbert, variety is actually the opposite of what most people want. But many people fail to recognize that fact and end up forcing variety into their lives, ultimately making themselves unhappy. Here’s why you need less variety in life than you think.
What are the main issues with market societies? How can a market society affect the happiness of its citizens? A market society is one in which market values deeply intertwine with the daily lives of the people who live in it. The intrusion of markets into every aspect of life comes with a handful of issues, including a strong social impact. Let’s explore the social impact of living in a market society.
What is the Strategic Choice Cascade strategy from Playing to Win? Why do companies struggle to employ this strategy in practice? In Playing to Win, the cascade strategy involves answering five questions, each leading to the next like a cascading waterfall. If used properly, the cascade strategy can help your business succeed. However, there are many misconceptions about this strategy that prevent businesses from adopting it. Keep reading to learn about Lafley and Martin’s Cascade Strategy, how it works, and some common misconceptions around it.