Overcoming bias
One of the best ways to overcome bias is to open up your thinking to the
scrutiny of others.
Of course this means you have to be prepared to put aside your ideas. This is
hard for most of us. Harder for the A-type personalities that tend to
gravitate to the tops of organisations.
These people think they are making rational decisions. Who doesn't?
And that is the problem with bias, we can recognise them so easily in everyone
except ourselves.
An example is the sunk cost bias which happens on many strategic projects that
should be cancelled because they are failing. The people involved often push
on in the hope that a little more cost will make it all worth while. It seldom
does. Mostly more money is wasted before the project fails properly.
From the outside it is so easy to see but that is not the point.
The point is what are your blind spots and biases and what are doing to spot
them in your strategic thinking?
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