Phil Rosenzweig joined EconTalk host Russ Roberts in this EconTalk episode to talk about his new book, Left Brain, Right Stuff.

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1. What role is there for “deliberate practice” in areas of decision-making such as business, finance, etc. Have you ever failed by using such a strategy out of context (like the CEO who “used the wrong case study,” according to Roberts)? What do you (now) think Rosenzweig would have told you to do differently?

2. Have YOU ever started a business venture that failed? What did you learn from the experience? To what extent do you agree with Rosenzweig’s discussion of the way small business failure statistics are perceived?

3. In their discussion of behavioral economics at the end of the episode, Rosenzweig argues that if research in this area make people learn not to do stuff, then we have another set of problems. Roberts has a different angle to his critique. With whom do you agree more? Do you think there’s a right way to utilize behavioral economics research?