The difference between a good leader and a great leader often comes down to the ability to craft and communicate a vision for the organization to its employees and the public.

I recently concluded a series of three articles on leadership perspectives for the ALA Learning Exchange newsletter. The latest article focused on the importance of developing and articulating a vision. Below is the start of the article.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18

Throughout history, humans have sought meaning both in the moment and in the larger scope of events. When times are tough and the world is confusing, people look to their leaders for clarity about the future. This makes casting a vision perhaps the most important skill a leader can master and also the most challenging. 

At its basic level casting a vision is the ability to paint a future from the many factors that make up today. In ancient times, it was commonplace for people to seek out oracles, shamans, and mystics to appeal for divine direction. In our complicated world, this need for guidance has not disappeared. If anything our leaders must be more dynamic with their visions to cut through the clutter of information noise.

Read the rest of the article on the Efficient Librarian web site.

Imagine walking up to movie theater concession stand. On display are three bags to show popcorn sizes. The first is a small bag that costs $4.99. The second bag is a little bit larger at $6.99. The third bag is huge and costs $7.99. Which one do you pick? When people are exposed to this set of options they often pick the largest on the perception that it is the best value. However, have they been tricked into spending more than they normally would? In other words, have they fallen for a decoy?

In an article by Gary Mortimer, the Decoy Effect is demonstrated to be a classic sales trick. What is a decoy?

The decoy effect is defined as the phenomenon whereby consumers change their preference between two options when presented with a third option – the “decoy” – that is “asymmetrically dominated”. It is also referred to as the “attraction effect” or “asymmetric dominance effect”.

What asymmetric domination means is the decoy is priced to make one of the other options much more attractive. It is “dominated” in terms of perceived value (quantity, quality, extra features and so on). The decoy is not intended to sell, just to nudge consumers away from the “competitor” and towards the “target” – usually the more expensive or profitable option.

Later in the piece, Mortimer shares a very illuminating example of how the Decoy Effect can change people’s choices, even when the decoy is obviously worthless. This comes from the work of Dan Ariely.

In one scenario the students had a choice of a web-only subscription or a print-only subscription for twice the price; 68 percent chose the cheaper web-only option.

They were given a third option – a web-and-print subscription for the same price as the print-only option. Now just 16 percent chose the cheaper option, with 84 percent opting for the obviously better combined option.

In this second scenario the print-only option had become the decoy and the combined option the target. Even The Economist was intrigued by Ariely’s finding, publishing a story about it entitled “ The importance of irrelevant alternatives”.

So next time you shopping in the mall or online, keep your eyes open for the Decoy Effect. It might be a fun game to play and save you money at the same time.

Back in November, 2019, which seems like years ago now, I had the honor of meeting Shola Richards at the Florida Public Library Director’s meeting in Tallahassee.  I was deeply impressed by his energy and enthusiasm for improving our work spaces and our lives.  He was funny and deeply moving at the same time. We are having him come virtually to Palm Beach in the summer to work with my library staff.  

It turns out that Shola and I have a lot of things in common.  We are both happily married to awesome women who are also our best friends.  We are both fathers, Shola to two daughters and my one daughter, all around the same age.  We are both at first reluctant, and but now enthusiastic, dog owners.  We both live in beautiful parts of the country.  We are both passionate trainers who want to change people’s lives.  Although I will admit he is much more handsome than me!   However a couple weeks ago Shola shared in his weekly email message one profound way that our lives are different.  It is something that I take for granted every day.  For him, it could be a matter of life and death. 

The title of his message was Why I’ll Never Walk Alone.

Twice a day, I walk my dog Ace around my neighborhood with one, or both, of my girls. I know that doesn’t seem noteworthy, but here’s something that I must admit:

I would be scared to death to take these walks without my girls and my dog. In fact, in the four years living in my house, I have never taken a walk around my neighborhood alone (and probably never will). …

When I’m walking down the street holding my young daughter’s hand and walking my sweet fluffy dog, I’m just a loving dad and pet owner taking a break from the joylessness of crisis homeschooling.

But without them by my side, almost instantly, I morph into a threat in the eyes of some white folks. Instead of being a loving dad to two little girls, unfortunately, all that some people can see is a 6’2” athletically-built black man in a cloth mask who is walking around in a place where he doesn’t belong (even though, I’m still the same guy who just wants to take a walk through his neighborhood). Its equal parts exhausting and depressing to feel like I can’t walk around outside alone, for fear of possibly being targeted.

Reading his post had a deep impact on me.  Every day I step out my front door to walk to the mailbox, or roller blade around the block, or walk my dog without a hint of concern.  All my life I have felt comfortable walking through city streets without fear of being profiled.  I take for granted how the color of my skin gives me freedoms that others do not have.   

At the library we have a mission to connect communities, inspire thought and enrich lives.  Racism and violence are in direct opposition to it.   It is impossible to connect communities when racism and violence create barriers to trust.   It is impossible to inspire thought when racism and violence shut down understanding.   It is impossible to enrich lives when racism and violence favor some groups of people above others.  

Shola’s description of what he feels is necessary to do to stay safe on a simple walk through a peaceful community is heartbreaking.  Let us all commit to building a world where everyone feels safe walking the streets of their neighborhood and where the color of our skin does not keep us from stepping out our front door alone.  

As human beings we owe this to each other.

To learn more about Shola and his work, please visit his web site for more information and videos of him in action.

Have you ever wondered how you make a decision?  Most people believe that in any given situation they make rational, common sense choices that will maximize their success and happiness.  In truth, our minds work in mysterious ways that often lead people to make decisions that run counter to their best interests.  The major work on this subject was done in the 70’s and 80’s by a pair of Israeli researchers who revolutionized the field.  Their names were Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky.

In his latest book, Micheal Lewis, author of The Blind Side and The Big Short, looks at the fascinating life and work of these two researchers in his new book, The Undoing Project.  It provides a fun introduction to some of Kahneman and Tversky’s greatest discoveries, including anchoring, base rate fallacy, framing, and prospect theory.  The book is an enjoyable character study of the unique partnership between these two researchers whose work has impacted fields far from academia, including medicine and sports.

After reading the book, you may become skeptical about the quality of your decisions, but at the same time you will learn ways to double check your thought process so that you can make a better decisions.