One key to successful group decisions is getting people to pay much less attention to what everyone else is saying.
James SurowieckiPop music thrives on repetition. You know a song's a hit when you've heard it so often that you'll be happy never to hear it again.
James SurowieckiOlder people do a better job of managing their impulses, and so they're better able to put off putting off.
James SurowieckiWhen Americans are asked to rank professions in terms of honesty and ethics, insurance agents routinely end up near the bottom of the list - somewhere between politicians and car salesmen. Generally, insurers are seen as clever hucksters who prey on insecurity and ignorance to sell people what they don't need at prices they shouldn't have to pay.
James SurowieckiThe U.S. is excellent at importing cheap products from the rest of the world. Let's try importing some human capital instead.
James SurowieckiLack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather than risk failure, they prefer to create conditions that make success impossible, a reflex that of course creates a vicious cycle.
James Surowiecki