Dan Heath Books

Early in our research, we discovered that most decision errors stem from predictable psychological traps. We call them “villains” because they sabotage even the most careful thinker. The first villain, narrow framing, limits our choices before we even start. Often, we phrase decisions as either/or q...

From Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

The first step of WRAP, “Widen Your Options,” starts with a simple truth: most people decide within narrow boundaries. We crave closure, so we prematurely shrink our range of alternatives. But breakthroughs happen when we deliberately stretch that range. Think about how Pixar approaches storytellin...

From Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

One of the greatest ironies of communication is that expertise can blind us. The more we know, the harder it becomes to imagine what it’s like not to know. That’s what we call the Curse of Knowledge. Imagine tapping out a well-known song on a table; you hear the melody clearly in your head, but to o...

From Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Simplicity, at its core, means finding the soul of an idea. It’s not reduction for its own sake; it’s prioritization that preserves meaning. To make an idea stick, you must identify the most critical element and express it in a way that’s both compact and profound. Think of journalists writing headl...

From Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

My story begins far before the courtroom lights and tech conference headlines. I grew up in a household that valued education deeply, and that faith in learning carried me to Princeton and Harvard Business School. At every step, I chased excellence, believing it was the universal language of success...

From Reset

When I joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, it felt like crossing into the citadel of innovation. The firm was legendary — backing companies like Google and Amazon — and standing at its heart seemed to promise unprecedented opportunity. Yet behind the prestige, I found a culture steeped in quiet...

From Reset