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STOP Letting Your Brain Fool You! The Truth About Decision-Making Biases
Episode 326th March 2025 • The Mammoth in the Room • Nicolas Pokorny, PhD, MBA
00:00:00 00:10:49

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As leaders, we like to think we’re in control, but millennia of evolution have wired us to react on instinct, often leading us straight into decision-making traps. In this episode, we expose the hidden biases that can derail even the smartest leaders and share three powerful strategies to outthink your own brain.

From the anchoring trap that skews salary negotiations to the status quo bias that made Blockbuster ignore Netflix, we break down how these cognitive biases play out in real business scenarios. 

Don’t let your instincts run your business unfiltered. Tune in now and discover how to challenge your biases, strengthen your leadership, and drive better results. And if you want to dive deeper, grab my book, The Mammoth in the Room, for a roadmap on how great leaders use evolutionary truths to achieve outstanding success.



In this episode:

- Introduction to decision making biases

- The anchoring trap

- The status quo bias

- The sunk cost fallacy

- Learn 3 proven strategies to outsmart biases

- Conclusion and next steps to improve decision making



Resources Mentioned in the Episode:


Harvard Business Review: The Hidden Traps in Decision Making, John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa (September–October 1998)

https://hbr.org/1998/09/the-hidden-traps-in-decision-making-2 


Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science 185,1124-1131(1974). DOI:10.1126/science.185.4157.1124

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124 

 

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453–458.

https://sites.stat.columbia.edu/gelman/surveys.course/TverskyKahneman1981.pdf



Get in Touch: 

Website: https://www.mammothleadershipsciences.com    

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolaspokorny 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MammothLeadershipSciences   

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