Action Bias

Humans tend to favour action over inaction. Taking action often has benefits, but we tend to default to action even when it is against our best interests.

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Key Insights & Principles

Decision Making

1. We are prone to take action, especially when we are new to something, and this can lead to poor decisions.
2. Inaction is not within our culture, even when it is more sensible.

1. Have patience, gather information, prepare alternatives.

Personal Finance

1. Those that demonstrate patience in finance often outperform those that want to be active.
2. Better financial decisions are made with a calm longer term approach.

1. Do less than you think you should.

Business

1. For startups, action may be best.
2. After initial results, it usually is better to pause, and decide what to do next.

1. Get started quickly and take action.
2. Get the first sale as soon as possible.
3. Before scaling, pause, gather information and lessons learned before proceeding with action.

Book References