Crowds and Their Impact on Decision Making

Every year, Gartner shares the personal side of expert analysts in the form of their recommended reads (see Gartner’s 7 Must-Read Business Books for 2022). Each book on the list comes with a note from the expert highlighting its value to you as a leader and an individual. This month’s podcast features the book The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups by William J. Bernstein. The book was recommended by one of our data and analytics experts, Andrew White. The primary reason White recommended this book is that it goes totally against the popular image of the wisdom of crowds and explores counter arguments referred to as the delusions of crowds. Most importantly, the ideas are framed on the key challenges of executives and IT leaders for strategic decision making.Gartner research highlights that decision making is a core capability for every organization, and it is becoming more complex. Decisions are becoming more connected, more contextual and more continuous. IT leaders must prepare to reengineer decision making and ultimately make business decision making a competitive differentiator.