If you had the choice between a premium chocolate truffle for 15 cents or a Hershey’s Kiss for a penny, which would you choose?

If you’re like most people (75%), you’ll gladly splurge on the truffle. 

Now, consider a different scenario. The prices have been discounted by a penny each: You can buy the premium chocolate truffle for 14 cents, or get a Hershey’s Kiss for free.

Astonishingly, 69% of people will opt for the Hershey’s Kiss simply because it’s free. How could something as insignificant as a penny determine whether people enjoy a rare delicacy versus a chunk of foil-covered sugar you can find in any checkout aisle?

These are the questions Dan Ariely explores in Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.

Most of us fancy ourselves as savvy decision-makers, capable of seeing through finely crafted sales pitches, advertising slogans, and faulty advice. But as Ariely reminds us, the human brain is a flawed instrument that drives us to behave in ways contradicting our self-interest—often without us knowing about it.

From planning meals to planning vacations, buying candy bars to houses, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate – and we can’t help it. Horrifying! 

But there’s good news: Our misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. As Ariely notes, they’re systematic and predictable—they make us “predictably irrational.”

At the risk of sounding too Zen-like, admitting you don’t have total control of your thoughts and behaviors gives you more control than the person who’s convinced they never make mistakes. Keeping that in mind, here are three key takeaways from Predictably Irrational that can untangle the wires in your brain:  

Put important decisions and habits on autopilot: This is like a cheat code for beating procrastination. For example, we help clients set up automatic savings plans to avoid the “I’ll do that someday” trap.

Remember to be suspicious of “free”: The prospect of getting something for nothing is powerful. Truthfully though, everything comes with a price tag. A free lunch might be used as leverage for a favor down the road. You got “free” shipping because a pop-up told you to stuff your cart with items you don’t want or need. Our encouragement? Try getting curious about how you are paying for any “free” item offered to you. It might help you make more informed choices.  

Strategically reduce your choices: Sounds counterintuitive, but when people have too many options, they freeze up and make suboptimal decisions. But the antidote isn’t learning to make better decisions—it’s eliminating the ones that don’t matter. At Hill Investment Group, we boil down decades of research to give clients only the relevant information.

We’ve come across plenty of books about behavioral economics that are mind-numbingly complex and laden with jargon. This isn’t one of them. Ariely’s writing is as informative as an academic lecture and isn’t boring.

Once you dive into this book, you’ll never make decisions the same way again.

Building a restaurant and hospitality empire from the ground up doesn’t happen by accident—it’s the product of unwavering attention to detail complemented by a bold vision. That’s where Danny Meyer’s classic book comes in: Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business.

Restaurants have a notoriously high failure rate. By some estimates, more than half of new restaurants shutter before their fifth anniversary. When you’re a restaurateur, the odds are stacked against you—especially if you’re a novice. But what about the outliers? The mavens, the tastemakers who have the magic touch?

Enter Danny Meyer: St. Louis native, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, and founder of several restaurants including the beloved Shake Shack. At the age of 27, Meyer opened Union Square Cafe in New York City which became an instant hit. But he wanted to prove to himself that his success wasn’t a fluke–and it wasn’t. Today, Meyer has a portfolio of restaurants and is widely regarded as one of the most successful restaurateurs on the planet.

In his memoir-manifesto hybrid, Meyer illustrates the philosophy which he credits to his success: Enlightened Hospitality. “[Enlightened Hospitality] stands some more traditional business approaches on their head, but it’s the foundation of every business decision and every success we’ve had,” says Meyer.

Meyer’s writing is undeniably entertaining and intriguing, but what’s most impressive about the book is how easily it can be applied to industries outside of hospitality. Whether you’re managing a coffee shop or a publicly traded corporation, Meyer’s behind-the-scenes stories are guaranteed to equip you with priceless insights into leadership, creativity, and customer service.

At Hill Investment Group, we don’t limit our reading to books strictly about finance. In fact, some of the best Long View lessons we’ve learned come from stories completely unrelated to money. Now, thanks to Danny Meyer, we can add hospitality to that collection.

If you’re acquainted with our offices, you’ve likely noticed the rows of books lining the walls of our lobby. Some businesses adorn their offices with books to manufacture an aura of thoughtfulness or sagacity. But at Hill Investment Group, our book collection goes beyond optics.

For the past 14 years, continued education has been a pillar of our firm. By exposing our minds to a wide swath of insights and information, we’re equipped to deliver better experiences—and ultimately better outcomes—for our clients.

We encourage new employees and clients alike to dig into the books that have shaped HIG’s philosophy. This month, we’re highlighting The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On with Your Life by Bill Schultheis.

Like countless other evidence-based investing advocates, Schultheis’ conversion was sparked by a disenchantment with the active, Wall Street-style approach to investing that characterized his early career.

13 years after Schultheis saw the light, he wrote a book with a simple premise: Simplifying your investment strategy produces more wealth and more leisure time. The book doesn’t divulge any secrets, hacks, or inside scoops. In other words, it’s anti-viral. And yet, The Seattle Times dubbed it “The best investment book you’ve never read.” Even John Bogle, the father of index investing, urged people to act on its message.

“Exhaustive studies have shown that it is difficult, if not impossible, to ‘beat the market’ over the long haul. And yet that is exactly what Wall Street encourages you to do,” says Schultheis. “For serious investors, the question is not, ‘Can I beat the market?’, but rather, ‘How can I limit if not totally eliminate ‘underperformance’ of the market?’”

Though we don’t agree with Shultheis on everything, we love the simplicity of his maxim “Ignore Wall Street and get on with your life”.  If you’re ever overwhelmed by the flood of investment advice, The Coffeehouse Investor will bring you back down to earth.

Let us know what you think of The Coffeehouse Investor, and stay tuned for next month’s recommendation!