On Monday we wrote about irrational obstinacy: How seemingly rational people can make irrational decisions even in the face of data to the contrary. Today we provide three ideas to help you think about how to deal with it if you find yourself in this situation.
1. Awareness – it starts here. You must be aware that your behavior is neither rational nor logical when evidence clearly says that the actions you are taking are not correct and they are likely to exacerbate the issue than make it better. It’s a condition we reference as “ADS” (awareness deficiency syndrome), and it leads to business failures, financial disasters, and employee exodus (who wants to work for someone who far too often insists on the wrong answers). So, step one is to be aware that you are behaving in a way that is irrational. And if you are not sure, ask a trusted advisor or friend – and listen to their evidence.
2. Caring – it’s good to become aware, yet we meet people who tell us they are making decisions in the face of evidence that suggests they should not be making those decisions. Why? – They know better, experience taught them, hubris, they’ve always gone with their gut before so why not again? Awareness is not enough; you need to care enough to do something differently. Unfortunately it’s too late to care after an adverse outcome (not saying that you shouldn’t make amends for this). But should you have an adverse outcome, at least care enough to see if it may be something you overlooked or a past behavior that got in the way of making an evidenced based decision.
3. Action – If you are aware of your behavior and its consequences, if you care enough to improve, then take action. Taking action often requires support from a trusted colleague or advisor. It’s far too easy to fall back into old (and comfortable) behavior (we call this the default position) when under stress or pressure. Often, someone needs to help you break that pattern; support you with providing evidence-based information and work with you to develop a new pattern.
In an increasingly data rich business environment it is irresponsible to ignore the facts. Competing on analytic is more than a book title – it drives improvement and competitive differentiation – and business growth.
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
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