HBR.ORG
SPOTLIGHT 52
Leaders as Decision
64
Outsmart Your
72
Fooled by
78
From “Economic
Architects Own Biases Experience Man” to Behavioral
by John Beshears by Jack B. Soll, by Emre Soyer and Economics
and Francesca Gino Katherine L. Robin M. Hogarth by Justin Fox
Milkman, and
John W. Payne
Decision
Making
ALICE MASSANO
ARTWORK Millo, 2014
B.ART–Arte in Barriera
Turin, Italy
May 2015 Harvard Business Review 51
, SPOTLIGHT ON DECISION MAKING
SPOTLIGHT ARTWORK Millo, 2014
B.ART–Arte in Barriera
Turin, Italy
Structure your
organization’s work
to encourage
wise choices.
by John Beshears
and Francesca Gino
Leaders as
Decision Architects
A ALL EMPLOYEES, from CEOs to frontline workers, commit pre-
ventable mistakes: We underestimate how long it will take
to finish a task, overlook or ignore information that reveals
a flaw in our planning, or fail to take advantage of company
benefits that are in our best interests. It’s extraordinarily dif-
ficult to rewire the human brain to undo the patterns that
lead to such mistakes. But there is another approach: Alter
the environment in which decisions are made so that people
are more likely to make choices that lead to good outcomes.
Leaders can do this by acting as architects. Drawing on our
extensive research in the consulting, software, entertainment,
health care, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, banking, retail,
and food industries and on the basic principles of behavioral
economics, we have developed an approach for structuring
work to encourage good decision making.
52 Harvard Business Review May 2015
ALICE MASSANO
SPOTLIGHT 52
Leaders as Decision
64
Outsmart Your
72
Fooled by
78
From “Economic
Architects Own Biases Experience Man” to Behavioral
by John Beshears by Jack B. Soll, by Emre Soyer and Economics
and Francesca Gino Katherine L. Robin M. Hogarth by Justin Fox
Milkman, and
John W. Payne
Decision
Making
ALICE MASSANO
ARTWORK Millo, 2014
B.ART–Arte in Barriera
Turin, Italy
May 2015 Harvard Business Review 51
, SPOTLIGHT ON DECISION MAKING
SPOTLIGHT ARTWORK Millo, 2014
B.ART–Arte in Barriera
Turin, Italy
Structure your
organization’s work
to encourage
wise choices.
by John Beshears
and Francesca Gino
Leaders as
Decision Architects
A ALL EMPLOYEES, from CEOs to frontline workers, commit pre-
ventable mistakes: We underestimate how long it will take
to finish a task, overlook or ignore information that reveals
a flaw in our planning, or fail to take advantage of company
benefits that are in our best interests. It’s extraordinarily dif-
ficult to rewire the human brain to undo the patterns that
lead to such mistakes. But there is another approach: Alter
the environment in which decisions are made so that people
are more likely to make choices that lead to good outcomes.
Leaders can do this by acting as architects. Drawing on our
extensive research in the consulting, software, entertainment,
health care, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, banking, retail,
and food industries and on the basic principles of behavioral
economics, we have developed an approach for structuring
work to encourage good decision making.
52 Harvard Business Review May 2015
ALICE MASSANO
