Publishers Weekly
05/18/2020
Ethical self-improvement is a task best taken one day at a time, argues Harvard Business School professor Bazerman (The Power of Experiments, coauthor) in this encouraging primer aimed at businesspeople. Utilitarianism gets a bad rap, Bazerman writes, but with the right outlook, it can help people reach their “maximum sustainable level of goodness.” This means figuring out how to create as much value as possible for the most people, in as sustainable a level as possible. He focuses on such areas as identifying waste (both corporate and personal), allocating time more effectively “both for your own benefit and for the benefit of others,” and practicing philanthropy more with an eye toward genuinely helping others than gratifying one’s ego. The book is best where it uses familiar examples like the runaway trolley problem and the prisoner’s dilemma to nudge readers into rethinking their preconceptions about ethics, away from rule-following and toward considering the practical implications for others. Bazerman’s encouraging call for readers to keep moving in the right direction, even if they aren’t on the fast track to perfection, is a much-needed and sane approach to personal betterment. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"Bazerman’s encouraging call for readers to keep moving in the right direction, even if they aren’t on the fast track to perfection, is a much-needed and sane approach to personal betterment." — Publishers Weekly
“Take some of the best ideas in philosophy, mix in relevant research in psychology, add a lifetime of practical wisdom, and you have the recipe for a realistic guide to doing the most good you can. Read this book, and you will find yourself leading a better life!” — Peter Singer, Princeton University, author of Animal Liberation and Practical Ethics
“We all want to believe that we will help make the world a better place. But how? Take one step at a time, says Bazerman in his delightful and engaging book! More rational thinking and less intuition will lead us to that North Star.” — Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling coauthor of Tightrope
“Max Bazerman has a gift: to grasp the core of our hardest ethical issues, and to bring the best science and arguments to grapple with them. He does this with such clarity and compassion for human nature that you will be more than persuaded—you’ll get up and do something!” — Mahzarin R. Banaji, Harvard University, bestselling coauthor of Blindspot
“Building on the ideas of effective altruism, Bazerman delivers important new insights on how to use your time, money, intellect, and influence to make the world better.” — Will MacAskill, cofounder, Centre for Effective Altruism, and author of Doing Good Better
“Although we’re quick to recognize the moral mistakes other people make, it’s not until it’s too late that we catch most of our own. As a leading expert on this problem, Max Bazerman shows how we can avoid ethical blunders—and do more good along the way.” — Adam Grant, bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
“Max Bazerman is part behavioral scientist, part mensch—and the sage I consult whenever I’m stuck on a life decision. This brilliant, wise guide shows us why perfect really is the enemy of the good—and how we can all do better.” — Angela Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania, bestselling author of Grit
“Bazerman offers a roadmap that will help readers understand the world around them and how they can most strategically and effectively make things better. I spent my first 10 years out of college trying to be perfect, not better. Oh, how I wish I’d had this book to guide my vocational decisions.” — Bruce Friedrich, cofounder and executive director, the Good Food Institute
"Bazerman brings together the powerful insights of behavioural science and the incisiveness of Harvard Business School on how we can make the world better: more ethical, less corrupt, and more sustainable. It’s also Bazerman’s most personal work yet. He really does want to make the world better, not through lecturing, but by giving people the mental and institutional tools to shape it themselves." — David Halpern, CEO of the Behavioural Insights Team and author of Inside the Nudge Unit
"This will appeal to those seeking practical suggestions for improving business and philanthropic behavior." — Library Journal
Bruce Friedrich
Bazerman offers a roadmap that will help readers understand the world around them and how they can most strategically and effectively make things better. I spent my first 10 years out of college trying to be perfect, not better. Oh, how I wish I’d had this book to guide my vocational decisions.
Adam Grant
Although we’re quick to recognize the moral mistakes other people make, it’s not until it’s too late that we catch most of our own. As a leading expert on this problem, Max Bazerman shows how we can avoid ethical blunders—and do more good along the way.
David Halpern
"Bazerman brings together the powerful insights of behavioural science and the incisiveness of Harvard Business School on how we can make the world better: more ethical, less corrupt, and more sustainable. It’s also Bazerman’s most personal work yet. He really does want to make the world better, not through lecturing, but by giving people the mental and institutional tools to shape it themselves."
Will MacAskill
Building on the ideas of effective altruism, Bazerman delivers important new insights on how to use your time, money, intellect, and influence to make the world better.
Mahzarin R. Banaji
Max Bazerman has a gift: to grasp the core of our hardest ethical issues, and to bring the best science and arguments to grapple with them. He does this with such clarity and compassion for human nature that you will be more than persuaded—you’ll get up and do something!
Sheryl WuDunn
We all want to believe that we will help make the world a better place. But how? Take one step at a time, says Bazerman in his delightful and engaging book! More rational thinking and less intuition will lead us to that North Star.
Angela Duckworth
Max Bazerman is part behavioral scientist, part mensch—and the sage I consult whenever I’m stuck on a life decision. This brilliant, wise guide shows us why perfect really is the enemy of the good—and how we can all do better.
Peter Singer
Take some of the best ideas in philosophy, mix in relevant research in psychology, add a lifetime of practical wisdom, and you have the recipe for a realistic guide to doing the most good you can. Read this book, and you will find yourself leading a better life!
Library Journal
08/01/2020
Bazerman (business administration, Harvard Business Sch.) has written a book he hopes will improve readers' capacity to make ethical business decisions in order to create more value in the world and thus make the world a better place. He writes that people can act more ethically, often without making great sacrifices. However, he also thinks that improving one's behavior requires attention and effort even if one eschews, as he recommends, the goal of perfection. He uses the philosophy of utilitarianism in order to identify some goals he considers to be important and uses behavioral social sciences research to identify what keeps human beings from optimal behavior. He recommends some practical ways to improve human behavior by making us be more deliberative and less susceptible to our instincts. He also offers examples of organizations and individuals improving their behavior. This mixture of identifying what he considers worthwhile improvements and suggestions of how this might be done gives the book a potpourri feel. VERDICT This will appeal to those seeking practical suggestions for improving business and philanthropic behavior.—Shmuel Ben-Gad, Gelman Lib., George Washington Univ., Washington, DC
