![]() You can limit adverse effects by employing the following guidelines: The AntidoteĪ poorly framed problem can undermine even the bestconsidered decision. It’s also one of the most dangerous steps, as how you frame a problem can profoundly influence your choices. The first step in making a decision is to frame the question. When seeking others’ advice, don’t ask leading questions that invite confirming evidence - and don’t surround yourself with “yes” people.Are you really gathering information to help you make a smart choice - or are you looking for evidence that confirms what you already think and want to do? Be honest with yourself about your motives.Ask someone you respect to play devil’s advocate and argue against the decisions you’re contemplating.Check whether you’re examining all evidence with equal rigor.The Antidoteĭon’t necessarily disregard the choice to which you’re subconsciously drawn, but make sure it’s the smart one. Consequently, we give too much weight to supporting information and too little to conflicting information. This trap affects where we go to collect evidence, as well as how we interpret it. Leaders sometimes seek out information that supports their existing instinct or point of view, while avoiding information that contradicts it. Don’t cultivate a failure-fearing culture that leads employees to perpetuate and cover up mistakes.Be on the lookout for the influence of sunk cost biases in subordinates’ decisions and recommendations.Remember the wise words of Warren Buffett: “When you find yourself in a hole, the best thing you can do is stop digging.” Even the best and most experienced managers are not immune to errors in judgment. Examine why admitting a past mistake distresses you.Seek out, and listen carefully to, the views of people who were uninvolved in the earlier decision.The Antidote You’ll need to make a conscious effort to set aside any sunk costs - psychological or financial-that muddy your thinking. It’s psychologically safer to justify past decisions, make allowances and continue a tenuous course, even when we know the outcome is risky. Acknowledging a poor business decision is a very public matter, inviting criticism from colleagues and bosses. This frequently occurs when we’re unwilling, consciously or not, to admit a mistake. We know rationally that sunk costs are irrelevant to present decisions, but they nevertheless prey on our minds and lead to inappropriate choices. Remembering the desirability of the status quo will change over time.Īnother deep seated bias is our tendency to make choices in ways that justify past decisions, even when the latter no longer seem valid.Asking yourself whether you would choose the status quo if it weren’t so.Identify other options and use them as counterbalances. Never thinking of the status quo as your only alternative.Always reminding yourself of your objectives and examining how they would be served by the status quo.By becoming aware of the status-quo trap, you can lessen its pull by: Do so only when it turns out to be the genuinely best choice. You don’t want to maintain the status quo just because it’s comfortable. In business, where sins of commission tend to be punished more severely than sins of omission, the status quo holds a particularly magnetic position. Deep within our psyches, we are self-protective and risk-aversive. For example, each of us is predisposed to perpetuating the status quo it’s an inherent part of our thinking. We all carry biases that influence the choices we make.
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