Project managers are decision-making machines. Every day, our brains process enormous amounts of information and engage in decision-making almost incessantly. It gives us the feeling of being in control.

Maria Konnikova challenges that with “We humans too often think ourselves in firm control when we are really playing by the rules of chance.” From academic research to gambling/poker, “The biggest bluff: how I learned to pay attention, take control and master the odds” is a witty immersion into psychology, people reading and emotional nuance. The book is beating out a number of illusions we hold dear in decision making.

It is not rare in project management to attribute success exclusively to skill and dismiss pure luck. In all of honesty, some things are pure chance. It is up to how humble we are to recognise it.