The Power of Noticing

May 26, 2014
In this book that will suit fans of Dan Ariely and Malcolm Gladwell, Harvard Business School professor Bazerman (coauthor of Blind Spots) describes how we fail to notice the most important details around us. As Bazerman notes, when we analyze a particular problem, we tend to focus on the most readily available solutions; he suggests that we learn to ask broader questions. According to the author, we’re prone to “motivated blindness”—we fail to notice the unethical behavior of others when such an oversight is in our own best interests. This kind of failure explains the “surprises” of the doomed Challenger shuttle; Jerry Sandusky’s crimes at Penn State; child abuse in the Catholic Church; Bernie Madoff’s fraud; and Hurricane Katrina, among other examples. Though the book promises to help leaders be more perceptive, it’s minimally prescriptive, and will delight fans of behavioral psychology. This lively title isn’t likely to make anyone change his or her behavior, but it sheds light on our troubling tendency to see only what’s in front of our noses.

September 1, 2014

This title looks at the psychology of the decision-making process of leaders and shows how companies fail to notice and evaluate the correct indicators within their markets. Bazerman (Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Univ. Business Sch.; coauthor, Predictable Surprises) looked at some of the most important research in the fields of behavioral psychology and economics to develop techniques, habits, and best practices to overcome biases. The book covers how information asymmetry, motivational blindness, errors of omission, and systemic bias can lead even good leaders to make bad decisions. He fills the volume with examples from both academic research (the Invisible Gorilla Test, the bystander effect, "The Market for Lemons") and current events (Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Madoff, credit default swaps) to show how organizational ignorance of information can destroy individuals and possibly whole economies. This title will appeal to readers of Michael Lewis, Dan Ariely, and the Freakonomics books by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. VERDICT While readers of trade business titles will find several of the studies familiar, Bazerman outlines how they can train themselves to look beyond the facts at hand to notice the hidden information. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries with a business collection.--John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Bazerman, academic and consultant, uses his own experiences of failing to notice and many years of research to develop this road map for helping us notice critical information that we otherwise easily ignore. Failure to notice leads to poor personal decisions, organizational crises, and societal disasters. We learn that notable crises took place not because smart people misused readily available information, but because they missed it, e.g., the weather was too cold to safely launch the Challenger space shuttle, with disastrous consequences, and Bernard Madoff's claimed investment returns were impossible. Using a broad range of examples, exercises, and real-time strategies, Bazerman's aim is to make us first-class noticers by highlighting the benefits of leaders noticing and then taking appropriate action such as avoiding predictable surprises and suspecting whatever is too good to be true. First-class noticers carefully examine the relevant data and then ask, What conventional wisdom prevails in my industry that deserves to be questioned? This excellent book is a must-read for leaders and aspiring leaders.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)