The Confidence Map

Description

A new framework for understanding and improving the choices we make.

What do feelings of certainty and control have to do with our decision-making? According to Peter Atwater, the answer is simple: everything. And once we understand how they drive what we do, we can predict trends and generate better outcomes, whether we’re investing in technology stocks, designing menu items for a fast-food franchise, or running an emergency room.

In The Confidence Map, Atwater explores how feelings always trump facts and why events described as being unprecedented are often entirely predictable—if we know what to look for. He then shows readers how to apply his unique framework to their own choices. With the same tools he teaches the world’s leading institutional investors, corporations, and policymakers to help them make sense of complex situations and optimize their strategy, you’ll learn:
 

• How psychological distance consistently affects the choices we make
• Why “Me-Here-Now” decision-making is such a powerful force
• What happens at confidence peaks that leads to our downfall
• The five ways we respond to extreme vulnerability
• When consumers’ feelings of certainty and control – not price – drive demand

 
Spanning financial, economic, political, and social trends, The Confidence Map explores why we do what we do, where we can and cannot trust our natural instincts, and how we can make sense of a world that too often feels senseless. With Atwater’s toolkit in your decision-making arsenal, you’ll avoid psychological traps, spot opportunities, and navigate the road ahead with clarity and purpose.
purpose.”There are economic numbers, and then there is how people really feel about what’s going on in the economy. Peter Atwater connects both, helping us to find the signal in all the market noise in ways that give us insight not only about business, but about politics and society too. Atwater is one of my most important “finger to the wind” sources for understanding the global economy today.”
— Rana Forohoor, bestselling author of Homecoming, and global business columnist and associate editor for the Financial Times
 
“Peter Atwater is an insightful and original thinker whose work on the impact of mood and sentiment on decision making is an important contribution to understanding how markets work. I cite him often when speaking about how feelings of certainty and control –and their connection to evidence or emotion– affect the risks we take.” 
— Michele Wucker, best-selling author of The Gray Rhino and You Are What You Risk
 
“Always fresh and thought provoking.”
–Andrew Browne, Partner at Brunswick and former Group Editorial Director of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum
 
“Always interesting.”
–John Authers, Bloomberg’s Senior Editor for Markets
 
“Sober, clear-eyed analysis.”
–Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times columnist, DealBook founder, and bestselling author of Too Big Too Fail
 
“Peter Atwater is a contrarian’s contrarian, and an expert in confidence-driven decision making.”
–Herb Greenberg, editor, Empire Financial ResearchPETER ATWATER is an Adjunct Professor of Economics at William and Mary, and President of Financial Insyghts, a consulting firm that advises institutional investors, FORTUNE 500 executives, and global policymakers on how social mood affects decision making, the economy, and the markets. A pioneer in securitization and a long-time financial services executive, Peter’s work on social mood and decision-making has been featured in The Socionomist, Time Magazine, and The Financial Times.US