Unlocking Why Smart People Still Make Bad Decisions With Dr. Ricardo Valerdi

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with Dr. Ricardo Valerdi, engineer, sports scientist, University of Arizona professor, and author of *The Five Tool Team*, to unpack the psychology behind decision-making, and why judging a decision by its outcome is one of the most common leadership mistakes.

We get into the tug-of-war between "me" and "we," why the best hitters in baseball fail 70% of the time and still make the Hall of Fame, when your gut should outvote your data, and the Costanza Effect – the surprising case for doing the exact opposite of what feels obvious. Ricardo also shares his watch-checking story, a small moment that reveals how quickly we climb the ladder of inference and land on the wrong conclusion about people.

Chapters:

00:00:01 – Cold Start & Intro

00:03:30 – Why Brilliant People Still Get It Wrong

00:05:01 – The Me vs. We Tug of War

00:06:34 – Good Decision, Bad Outcome

00:10:20 – Why Hall of Famers Fail 70% of the Time

00:12:30 – When Your Gut Should Beat the Data

00:15:29 – The Costanza Effect

00:20:19 – The Most Dangerous Word in a Meeting

00:22:16 – Dissent Is Healthy Until It Isn't