How Emotional Tagging Can Push Leaders to Make Bad Decisions

One-time Ford CEO and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was the archetypal numbers man. No human failing such as emotions could influence a decision. Like McNamara, today’s CEOs who think they’re basing their decisions only on reason are deceiving themselves – and jeopardizing the company’s viability. These authors have written a forthcoming book on the subject, and in this article they describe how leaders can understand the powerful pull that emotions have on their decisions.