flying girl

I have paraphrased one of my takeaways from Oliver Burkeman's The Antidote:

Our feelings about a situation and the reality of the same situation are two different things.

When assessing our personal security for example, we are subject to both cognitive and availability biases.

These biases cause us to do thing to make us feel safer rather than actual increase our safety in reality.

We feel safer driving a car than being a passive passenger in a jet. But in reality we are significantly more likely to die on the road.

We spend more effort bolstering our home security against intruders instead of looking after our heart health. In reality, we are more likely to die from a heart attack than a home invasion.

End paraphrase.

Becoming more aware of why we make certain business decisions can make or break the business.

Are we doing something to make us feel a certain way? What effects will a decision have on actual reality?

Are we doing something as "investor theatre" (to extend Bruce Schneier's security theatre concept)? Or something that will actually make money?

Image: Flying girl via Shutterstock.