Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces
That Shape Our Decisions.
DanAriely
Summarized by BukolaOdedeyiand voiced by UyohUyoh
Sometimes ago, my friend, Belle got a new
hairstyle on.
Was it hot or cool?
ICan’t really say.
Silly me.
Hahaha…
But I loved it.Somuch,in fact that I got the
hairdresser’s details and booked an appointment.
I came home rocking Belle’s style but the
icing on the cake was when common friends
of Belle and I swooned over my new look.
‘I see you replicated Belle’s hairstyle
but I like it better on you’.
Oh!
It feels so good to be rated higher than another
person.
This is not just me, though.
It is a natural human instinct to compare.
We always want to find out how a situation
holds up in respect to another and this is
the first majorlesson in the book, Predictable
Irrational:
Humans don’t know what is good or bad, we
only judge things by comparing them.
If you understand this, you can be a better
marketer and a better negotiator.
If you’ve ever bought something just because
it came with a free extra: free accessories,
free shipping,Raise up your right hand.
Hahaha laugh
Point made.
Slowly lower your hand so as not to attract
attention.
I still remember my first ever attempt at
getting a mobile phone.
That was a very funny experience.
Hahaha laughs
The GSM technology was introduced in my country
at the turn of the 20th century.
It was horribly expensive to get connected
on one.
First off, I needed a mobile phone, then a
SIM from a telecoms service provider after
which I’ll subscribe for airtime to make
calls and sent texts.
The SIM alone will set you back about US$300.
With this high investment in a communication
device, let’s just say that not many people
are talking the GSM talk.
However, I got on the jolly ride one day when
I saw ads containing the most beloved word
in English language: FREE!
They called it BOGOF: buy one get one free.
Basically, this means that when I buy a SIM,
I’ll get another SIM, free.
I couldn’t hold back from this windfall.
I was literally salivating like a dog that
smelt dinner.Doggy pants.
The fact that this particular network provider
was not the sharpest knife in the place where
they keep the knives was hurriedly forgiven.
Who needs sharp, anyway?
I teamed with a buddy to raise the funds needed
to obtain the communication chip.
Soon after, I was the proud owner of a SIM
card.
How I got a phone to use it on is a story
for another time.
Hahaha laughs
It is amazing how far we’ll go to get a
free thing and this bore witness to the second
major point of this book,
Zero pricesdraw more people to pick products
they’ll otherwise not have considered, hence
Free offers could be costlier than paid version.
I shouldn’t have done it, I know.
I mean, this is the kind of attitude we disown
when we are in the midst of friends.
Aaargh (a disgusting sound).
Normally, I wouldn’t and like I said, shouldn’t
have taken the money, but today was not a
normal day.
I was broke, more broke than usual.
See?
When I saw the money, I first did the noble
thing: checked around for a likely owner.
Nobody.
Cab driver?
Doesn’t look like someone that can lose
his money.
It was a small amount of money, anyway, not
the kind of money you see and announce on
a radio.
I bent and stylishlypicked up the money from
the floor of the cab.
Ouch, the smaller the sin, the more likely
we’re to commit it.
The third major lesson in the Predictable
Irrational is:
The smaller the benefit, the more likely we’re
to cheat’.
Wow!
Sigh.
‘I really don’t want to sell it, but I
can release it for about $1,000.’
That was the words ofJane, my good friend.
Someone had made an offer for a 14 inchedelephant
statue that she brought in from Kenya.
I’d mentioned that the sculpture was selling
for less than half of her asking price on
eBay.
I’msure you’re not one of those, like
Jane, who always insist of enforcing their
point of view.Hahaha
‘See, I love her’, Jane was referring
to the elephant, I peered closely at the wooden
image, nothing on it suggest its sex, how
then did my friend assumed that the elephant
was female?
I shrugged.
‘I got her during my last safari in Africa…’
I gave up arguing.
It was obvious that the small statue held
so many fond memories for Jane, memories that
were useless to the potential buyer.
I think it is strange when each party firmly
believe in the value of what they were bringing
to the table even when it opposes the other
persons’ point of view.
But it’s not about what I think, as shown
in the fourth major lesson of the predictable
irrational:
We overestimate the worth of personal things.
Being a sales rep for a cute brand has its
perks, you know.
Every time I go out representing my organization,
I get a warm welcome.
‘I know your brand’ a particular prospect
enthused, ‘are you not the one running ads
of vehicles being powered by water?’
‘Yes, that’s us’ I strutted.
Like a peacock in the presence of a female,
‘That is the future we are building’.
Curiously, I asked ‘have you used any of
our products before?’
‘No’ he said honestly, ‘but I like you
guys nevertheless’.
OMG!
It doesn’t get mushier than this.
Pass the tissue, Shirley.
Sniff.
Sniff.
This man had never used any of my organizations
products yet he had such a high perception
of how we will deliver.
Crazy?
Crazy or not, we not only have loyalties to
brands and people we’ve never experienced
personally, we also have a preconceived notion
of how they will taste, smell, feel like when
we eventually use the products.
Unfortunately, the restaurant meal we preconceived
would be nice is actually likely to be nice,
even when it isn’t.
hahahaha.
The fifth major lesson in the Predictable
Irrational;
our expectations (real or imagined) influence
our experiences.
In conclusion, if you understand that humans
aren’t rational, you’ll better understand
yourself and that will help you to deal with
many of your weaknesses.
As an entrepreneur, a marketer or even an
husband or a wife, knowing that humans aren’t
rationally allows you to deal with people
they way they are, not the way you think they
should.
Now, Let’s Discuss
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book?
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