The Confidence Map: Charting a Path from Chaos to Clarity

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 47 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 09-04-2024


About this item

A groundbreaking framework for making better decisions by understanding–and mastering–confidence.

What does our desire for certainty and control have to do with our decision-making? According to behavioral economics pioneer Peter Atwater, the answer is simple: everything.

In The Confidence Map, Atwater explores the hidden role of confidence in the choices we make, and why events described as being unprecedented are often entirely predictable—if we know what to look for.

Using compelling stories from the past and present, Atwater shows listeners how to apply the same tools he teaches the world’s leading institutional investors, corporations, and policymakers to help them make sense of complex situations and optimize strategy.

You will learn:

How psychological distance consistently affects the choices we make

Why "Me-Here-Now" decision-making is such a powerful force

What happens at confidence peaks that leads to our downfall

The five ways we respond to extreme vulnerability

When consumers' feelings of certainty and control—not price—drive demand

The Confidence Map is a book about why we do what we do, where we can and cannot trust our natural instincts, and how we can make sense of a world that too often feels senseless.

Whether you’re investing in technology stocks, designing menu items for a fast-food franchise, or running an emergency room, Atwater offers an all-weather guide to avoid psychological traps, spot opportunities, and navigate the road ahead with clarity and purpose.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of images and figures from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.


Top reviews from the United States

FCR
5.0 out of 5 stars A tool to take Behavioral Finance and strategic decision-making to the next level
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023
Peter Atwater's "The Confidence Map" is an insightful read that provides decision-makers and advisors with new tools to understand the role (and variability) of confidence in behavior.

Modern psychology has been helpful in spotting and cataloguing the "economic" inconsistencies that exist in individual and group decision-making, Confidence and one's place along its continuum play a key role in understanding why people make irrational choices. However, these disciplines provide few tools to help the deciders make better choices while incorporating the realities of human behavior. Additionally, the world is in tumult. Disorientation and incomplete or wrong) information pervades the landscape and makes strategic and tactical choice-making even more challenging..

The timing of the book couldn't be more appropriate.

Peter's book offers a clear and ready mental model for understanding the "human side" of decision-making at the personal and group level. It is filled with impactful examples of tactical choices gone right- and wrong- within the framework of the confidence spectrum in which they were made. It is an eye-opener. The book provides much-needed context around recent "bet-the-farm" events and how many of those choices were less contrarian than they appeared at first blush.

"The Confidence Map" is a welcome addition to the behavioral finance and psychological canon. It's a vital read for those charged with making enterprise level strategic choices. It helps them acknowledge and incorporate the role of confidence and emotion in their choices. The book is an important tool for advisors to separate signal from noise and guide their clients on a path to better long-term outcomes. Finally, for individuals this book is a wonderful inside look at the role of social mood in the outcome of events both personal and world-wide.
MTL
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful insights for life and work
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2023
Peter Atwater's "The Confidence Map" is a truly great read from cover to cover. The insights he shares are often "yes, of course!" moments that make you reflect on decisions you've made in life and work and reflect on why you did it and how you would handle differently in the future. His approach is relatable and helpful and the thoughtful approach to confidence has helped me to approach my work in new ways. With investing, it helps you understand how to run against the crowd and not just with the crowd. It's a great read and one that I highly recommend to others.
Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2023
Informative, challenging, yet easy to understand, Atwater's book was a treat to read. As a former student of Atwater's, I was so excited to see the topics we discussed in class distilled into a book. Beyond this, however, I gained many new insights into viewing the events both in my own life and in the world more broadly. I am grateful to Atwater for constantly challenging people's intuitions and for promoting novel ways to improve decision-making. Would recommend this book to anyone.
vickie foster
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent framework for understanding confidence
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2024
Peter does an excellent job of laying out the framework for the ingredients that make up confidence. Confidence is an essential element in how people view the future and strongly held beliefs. This framework can be applied to changing political trends to confidence in the economy or even a currency. An excellent read.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book! Actionable insights for everyone from C-suite to physicians to finance pros
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023
Great book covering a wide range of topics and why people and crowds act in certain ways. It also highlights the importance of emphasizing resiliency rather than confidence as the immediate objective
Ricardo Iñurria
2.0 out of 5 stars Not for me
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023
There are some valuable concepts and ideas, but there is too much verbage clouding their essence, for me the book could have been way shorter.
Matt Zeigler
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliantly simple framework for mapping the psychological process of decision making
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
Peter Atwater's 2x2 "Confidence Quadrant" is a lens. You can look through it to unpack decisions made. You can look through it to consider decisions you'll make. You can apply it to business strategy, kids, and strangers on the internet.

But my favorite part about this lens, is how complementary and additive it is to whatever you read after it.

Atwater's gifted us a framework you can apply immediately across domains. And while all the behavioral psychology, market sentiment, and other stuff you'd expect is here too, these examples scratch the surface of the confidence map's applications.

5 out of 5 for being concise, practical, and actionable.
Vinny
2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Original
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023
This is really a book about optimism and pessimism. If you have read extensively about the effects of public sentiment on markets/economy, this book will not add to that knowledge. Nothing original in this book and it could have been condensed considerably.

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