The Personal MBA

The routine is funny because it’s so familiar. All of us have had the experience of knowing or feeling that we should do something or that an action would be in our best interest…but we don’t do it. The term for that experience is Akrasia (pronounced “ah-KRAH-see-ah”).
Akrasia and procrastination are related, but they’re not the same thing. Procrastination occurs when you’ve decided to complete a task, but you keep putting it off until later without consciously deciding to do it later. If you have “answer e-mail” on your to-do list, but you browse the Internet for hours without answering any e-mail, that’s procrastination.
Akrasia is a deeper issue: it’s a general feeling that you “should” do something, without necessarily deciding to do it. The “should” feeling doesn’t lead to decision or action, even if the action seems to be in your best interest. Most people experience Akrasia when considering changing Habits they no longer want (“I should quit smoking”), taking a new action (“I should donate to that nonprofit”), or contemplating an uncomfortable topic (“I should look into life insurance and talk to a lawyer to write a will”).

Framing is a way to control the perception of Contrast. For example, I often use the phrase “$149,000 less than a top-tier business program” when marketing my business courses. Compared with buying a book, my course looks expensive; compared with the cost of an MBA program, it’s a bargain.

Examples of Absence Blindness are everywhere. Here’s a common example: great management is boring—and often unrewarding. The hallmark of an effective manager is anticipating likely issues and resolving them in advance, before they become an issue. Some of the best managers in the world look like they’re not doing much, but everything gets done on time and under budget.