Learn · TED

Talk38 min

How to Rethink a Bad Decision

WorkLife with Adam Grant · TED

Watch At TED

About

In life and work, we have a hard time changing course. When we wind up in a miserable job, a failing project, or a floundering romantic relationship, we rationalize, make excuses, and stick with our bad decisions—even when the writing's on the wall. Why? Usually we assume the driving force is sunk costs: we don't want to admit we've wasted that time or money. But in fact, the root of our stubbornness is a psychological trap called "escalation of commitment." Once we understand that, we can start taking steps to protect ourselves from... well, ourselves. (Audio only)

The talk

  1. How to Rethink a Bad Decision 38 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
WorkLife with Adam Grant
Speaker
WorkLife with Adam Grant
Year
2021
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed