What if the success stories you believe, the leadership advice you follow, and the wellness rules you swear by are built on shaky evidence—or no evidence at all? Even well-meaning ideas like grit, purpose, and diversity can cause harm when taken at face value. So, we challenge you to think critically before embracing feel-good narratives.

In today’s Happiness Squad Podcast episode, Ashish Kothari and Alex Edmans expose the dangers of misinformation in the pursuit of happiness, well-being, and leadership.

Alex Edmans is a British economist and Professor of Finance at London Business School, renowned for his work on responsible business and corporate governance. He authored the influential book Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit, which argues that businesses can achieve sustainable success by creating value for all stakeholders—not just shareholders. This book was named a Financial Times Book of the Year in 2020 and has been translated into nine languages .

In addition to Grow the Pie, Edmans co-authored the 14th edition of Principles of Corporate Finance and released May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It in 2024.

In the conversation, Alex reveals how many popular beliefs are based on flawed data, biased research, and confirmation bias. Ashish and Alex discuss how critical thinking is the most underrated skill in the age of instant advice.

Things you will also learn in this episode:

• How confirmation bias shapes what we want to believe

• The unproven hype behind Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why”

• The shaky science behind the 10,000-hour success rule

• The confusion between correlation and causation in diversity studies

• The overgeneralization of grit as a universal success factor

• How to build smarter organizations through dissent and inclusion

Don’t let bad data shape your decisions. Learn how to think critically. Explore these lessons and more in the full episode.

Resources:✅

• Related episode with Alex Edmans: https://podcast.happinesssquad.com/episode/the-power-of-purpose-driven-organizations-with-alex-edmans

• Alex Edmans’ website: http://www.alexedmans.com/

• Growth the Pie website: http://www.growthepie.net/

• TED Talk: The Pie-Growing Mindset https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_edmans_the_pie_growing_mindset

• TED Talk: The Social Responsibility of Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5KZhm19EO0

Books:✅

• Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit

• May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It: https://a.co/d/4ZSp6Up

• Principles of Corporate Finance ISE by Alex Edmans: https://a.co/d/aglrrnu

• Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari: https://a.co/d/4HwnUVQ

Other books mentioned:

• The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-10x-rule-grant-cardone/1100173447

• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World https://a.co/d/5DGPHqI

• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: https://a.co/d/ayLQn4R

• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance: https://a.co/d/5IEIjqE

83. On the ground with Colonel Khazan