The Fish in the Room by m. eweed

THE FISH IN THE ROOM

You built the killer case—flawless logic, sexy data, slides that could win a corporate beauty pageant. And what happened? Your customer picked your competitor. Or your boss chose his own recycled dusty idea from 2019. Then They explained it with the dumbest reasons you've ever heard. So of course you thought, "I was two seconds away from calling them complete idiots.". But here's the twist: they weren't being stupid—they just ordered for themselves and your dish wasn't on the menu.

This isn't a normal business book. It's what happens when you take behavioral science, neuroscience, psychology, and real business strategy and put them together to answer one simple question: how do you actually make people say yes and take action? And it's not theory or jargon—it's explained with real situations you already know: you, your boss, your customers, that colleague whose bad ideas keep getting approved… and the real moves entrepreneurs used to turn small ideas into companies everyone now thinks were "always" going to succeed.

Because here's the problem: what they taught you in business school was expensive fiction. Every MBA program, every management textbook, every consultant deck tells the same fairytale about decision-making: people spot a problem, gather information, weigh alternatives, and then pick the optimal solution. It sounds scientific. It sounds professional. But it's fantasy. Real life doesn't work like that. This book speaks neuroscience, not business-school fiction.

Your brain actually has two systems making decisions. The first is the emotional side—your ancient survival processor that's been keeping humans alive for millions of years. It's insanely fast, reacts in milliseconds, and it operates completely outside your awareness. It doesn't talk, it doesn't do logic—it just fires gut reactions based on feelings. The second is the analytical side—your slow, deliberate, articulate processor. That's the voice in your head that sounds smart and professional. It loves weighing options, building arguments, and writing long explanations for choices you already made. Same brain, two operating systems.

So picture it like this: a giant ancient fish, silent, moving toward warm water, away from danger, following the group—that's your emotional system. Pure instinct. Then picture a well-dressed general—articulate, strategic, making plans, calculating incentives, presenting frameworks, speaking in full sentences about "optimal outcomes." That's your analytical system.

This whole book is your invitation to accept one uncomfortable truth: humans don't buy spreadsheets. And by "spreadsheets" I mean logic, evidence, numbers, data—all the rational firepower you thought would finally make them say yes. Most of the time, it doesn't. Not your calculation. Not your competitive matrix. Not that slide deck you redesigned seventeen times. Because what actually decides is the fish, not the general.

So here's what's coming: where behavioral economics and psychology finally meet Monday-morning business decisions. Turn the page and you'll see why your last pitch really failed—and why it had nothing to do with the quality of your logic.

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The EASIEST Framework: (Your Unfair Advantage)

This isn't a book you read and feel inspired. This is a playbook you steal from. At its core is the E.A.S.I.E.S.T framework—the easiest way to trigger human decisions. Seven steps built on how humans actually decide, not how they should. Emotion first. Tiny actions. Social proof that's close enough to matter. Each principle comes with a Monday Morning Test—something you can try immediately, not theories you'll forget by Tuesday. Backed by behavioral science, field-tested in real markets where logic goes to die. Read it for the stories. Use it for the wins.

A Book that travels

The Fish in The Room can be found in over 70 countries on major platforms like Google Play Books, Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand (Scribd), bol.com, Booktopia, and more.

Whenever individuals make purchases based on emotions and then allow reason to make sense of it, there’s a strong possibility that the book has already made its way onto the shelves—or at the very least, to the screens.

The book is currently available in the following countries and storefront codes: Argentina (AR), Austria (AT), Australia (AU), Belgium (BE), Bolivia (BO), Brazil (BR), Belarus (BY), Canada (CA), Switzerland (CH), Chile (CL), Colombia (CO), Costa Rica (CR), Czech Republic / Czechia (CZ), Germany (DE), Denmark (DK), Dominican Republic (DO), Ecuador (EC), Estonia (EE), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), United Kingdom (GB), Greece (GR), Guatemala (GT), Hong Kong (HK), Honduras (HN), Hungary (HU), Indonesia (ID), Ireland (IE), India (IN), Italy (IT), Japan (JP), Kyrgyzstan (KG), South Korea (KR), Kazakhstan (KZ), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), Mexico (MX), Malaysia (MY), Nicaragua (NI), Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), New Zealand (NZ), Panama (PA), Peru (PE), Philippines (PH), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Paraguay (PY), Romania (RO), Russia (RU), Sweden (SE), Singapore (SG), Slovakia (SK), El Salvador (SV), Thailand (TH), Türkiye / Turkey (TR), Taiwan (TW), Ukraine (UA), United States (US), Uruguay (UY), Uzbekistan (UZ), Venezuela (VE), Vietnam (VN) and South Africa (ZA).

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Quick Questions

Is this book hard to read? I don't have an MBA and I'm tired of business jargon.

This is the opposite of business school speak. No synergistic paradigm shifts. No leveraging core competencies. Just stories, real case studies, and clear explanations of why humans do what they do. Each chapter includes a Monday Morning Test—something concrete you can try immediately. If you can recognize that people (including yourself) sometimes make decisions that don't make logical sense, you'll understand everything in this book.

Who is this book actually for?

Anyone who's frustrated that logic doesn't win as often as it should. Founders who can't understand why inferior competitors keep winning. Sales teams tired of "we went with someone else." Marketers wondering why their perfectly crafted message falls flat. Product developers confused about why users ignore obviously better features. If you've ever said "but we're clearly the better option" and still lost, this book explains why—and what to do about it.

Will this work in my industry/market/country?

The book has reached readers in 70+ countries across every industry imaginable. Why? Because human decision-making is universal. A procurement manager in Munich and a hospital administrator in Dubai have the same psychological software. The details change. The fish doesn't.

I know about behavioral economics already. Is this just another book about cognitive biases?

Knowing that anchoring bias exists is interesting. Knowing how to use it to close a deal on Tuesday morning is valuable. This book bridges that gap. It's not about listing biases—it's about applying behavioral science to actual business situations. Real companies, real decisions, real money on the line.

What's this E.A.S.I.E.S.T. framework I keep seeing mentioned?

Seven behavioral principles that work with human psychology instead of fighting it. It's called E.A.S.I.E.S.T. because it's the easiest way to trigger decisions—easier than building perfect logic that nobody acts on. Each principle comes with practical applications and a Monday Morning Test so you can try it immediately. Emotion first, not last. Tiny actions, not grand commitments. Social proof close enough to believe. The framework isn't theory—it's what actually works when spreadsheets don't.

Is this book about manipulating people?

It's about understanding reality. Right now, your competitor might be accidentally using these principles while you're building logical arguments that sound smart in meetings but don't close deals. Understanding how decisions actually happen isn't manipulation—it's honesty. The manipulation is pretending humans are rational calculators when they're not. This book just stops pretending.

How long will it take to see results?

The Monday Morning Tests are designed for immediate application. Some readers report trying a principle the next day and seeing different responses. But this isn't a magic trick—it's pattern recognition. The more you understand how the fish actually makes decisions, the more you'll notice those patterns everywhere. Some wins are instant. Some take time. All of them require you to stop doing what feels logically right and start doing what actually works.

This sounds too simple. Can it really be this straightforward?

That's Napoleon talking. He wants complexity because complexity feels sophisticated. The fish doesn't care about sophisticated—the fish cares about feeling safe, feeling smart, and feeling like it won. The principles are simple because human psychology is consistent. Applying them in your specific situation takes thought, but the foundation is deliberately uncomplicated. Hard doesn't mean better. It usually just means you're fighting human nature instead of working with it.

What if I don't think emotions drive business decisions in my field?

Then you're in the majority—and that's exactly the problem. B2B buyers love to believe they're rational. Hospital procurement committees insist they only care about specs. Enterprise software decisions claim to be purely ROI-driven. And yet, deals still go to vendors who tell better stories, who feel safer, who were recommended by someone trusted. If you think your field is the exception, you're giving your competitors an enormous advantage.

Is this backed by real research or just personal anecdotes?

Both. Every principle is rooted in established behavioral science—the kind with peer-reviewed studies and Nobel Prize winners behind it. But it's applied through twenty years of real business experience across pharmaceutical markets, medical devices, and wellness products in multiple countries. You get the science and the receipts. Theory without practice is academic. Practice without theory is luck. This book is neither.

I'm not in sales. Is this still relevant to me?

If you interact with humans who make decisions—customers, colleagues, investors, partners, employees, regulators—this is relevant. Product developers who understand the fish build things people actually want. Leaders who understand it inspire action instead of compliance. Marketers who get it craft messages that land instead of clever copy that gets ignored. Sales just happens to be where bad decision-making psychology shows up fastest and most expensively.