Perhaps the best way to illustrate how this paradox works (as in “bites you”) is with a cross section (in summary form) of (just some) of the errors/biases that I have discussed in various articles. As always, I have tried to simplify (oversimplify?) the content so as to make it quickly digestible. For example: biases are not necessarily irrational (but can still be problematic).
The purpose of this article is to share some additional perspectives on intuition themes that are fundamental components of individual thinking – and in particular, describe some of their limitations. Simply put, your intuition is your initial impressions of the world around you – before you ‘learn’ specific principles. They reflect both expectations (belief) and experience (perception).
“I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” ― Mark Twain Of all of the the contexts (and I trust there are many) in which the Business Brain Model is relevant– amongst the most important is when it comes to decision making. I have written about this from several perspectives.
Just to be clear about terminology, groupthink is a phenomenon whereby individuals within a group strive for consensus to the extent they set aside their personal opinions and, in some cases, ‘inconsistent’ facts. While there is appeal (especially in a business context) for fast, “orderly”, “efficient” decisions, the trade-off can outweigh the benefits.
The obvious question arising as a result of these alarming results I reported on previously: What is a businessperson (any person) to do? The obvious (but impossible) solution is to avoid stress. Alternatively – could a businessperson (or anyone) deal with it effectively?
Just to be clear, my objective in this article is not to do a book review or a historical reenactment of the life and accomplishments of da Vinci but rather to repeat some lessons identified by the author that can be drawn upon in the context of creativity and/or innovation everyday challenges in the world of business.
My previous articles on this topic were heavily biased toward what can go wrong – essentially the pitfalls related to decision making involving cognitive bias, thinking errors, etc. Today, I am featuring a few ideas on how to facilitate deciding – making choices. This is an area I have written on extensively.
I am willing to bet that the majority of business people feel that all their ideas originate in the brain and that the behavior of their colleagues does so as well. Actually, this seems like a safe bet since the unofficial/unscientific survey I’ve conducted verifies this. What if that was not the case?