Out of Focus: With Guests Dolly Chugh, Max Bazerman & Mark Pendergrast

Published: March 18, 2019, 7:01 a.m.

b'If you\\u2019ve ever watched a TV crime drama, you\\u2019ve probably heard that eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. A person commits a crime literally right in front of someone, but the witness can\\u2019t identify key characteristics of the perpetrator\\u2014or worse, gets the details wrong and implicates an innocent person. Why does this happen?\\n\\nIn this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at the limitations of attention and perception.\\n\\nThe episode begins with the description of a surprising experiment involving two teams passing basketballs. You can try the experiment here, even if you\\u2019ve already listened to the episode.\\n \\nKaty follows with the story of one of the most famous marketing blunders of all time: the introduction of New Coke by the Coca Cola Company. Mark Pendergrast, author of For God, Country & Coca Cola, recounts the history of the brand and takes you inside the company to explain how their executives came to a disastrous decision. \\n\\nRobert Teszka then demonstrates how magicians harness the limitations of an audience\\u2019s attention in order to surprise and entertain. \\n \\nNext, we hear from Dolly Chugh of New York University\\u2019s Stern School of Business and Max Bazerman of the Harvard Business School. They explain how this tendency to miss important information is systematic and predictable, and how it can negatively affect decisions in business and life. Dolly Chugh is the author of The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias. Max Bazerman is the author of The Power of Noticing: What the Best Leaders See.\\n\\nFinally, Katy offers simple strategies to help you expand your awareness and make better-informed decisions.'