The Danger of 'I Get It' Thinking

Let's perhaps start by defining terms. 'I Get It' thinking, often synonymous with 'I Know It', occurs

when we immediately decide that we already know about or understand a concept or situation that someone is describing. I'm sure there is no one reading this that has not experienced this thinking at some point. The danger in doing so is proportional to both the frequency with which we employ this thought and also the importance of the situation in which we apply it.

Each time we believe we already 'get' a particular concept or situation, we are telling ourselves we already know what there is to know. We shut ourselves off from listening to or picking up any new information on the subject.  We therefore end up ignoring or overlooking deeper insights or even new opportunities or perspectives. As soon as we believe that we 'get it', we don't explore the subject any further, which may seriously restrict the quality of the decisions that we make.

I see this often in training sessions, where participants have pre-determined that they already 'get' the subject we're discussing, that they know all that they need. They have closed off their minds before entering the room and therefore leave the session with no further insights or advancement in their thoughts on the subject. Their parting comment that the past hours were a waste of their time is accurate.  Indeed, they learned nothing, but not because there was nothing for them to learn. Had they not believed they already 'got it', they would have been able to pick up a few more insights, gained a little more depth to their current understanding, or even come to understand where they might support other team members with their advanced understanding.

The 'I Get It' syndrome is insidious and can creep in at any level.  Corporations that believe they 'get' the market, future trends, the continual demand for their products or services will make decisions based on those thoughts but may fail to continue to check their understanding and miss shifts and nuances that cost them opportunities.  Companies that get locked into the belief that they 'get' their business either come to learn that it is a constantly evolving understanding or they become defunct.

Individuals aren't any different. When we believe that we 'Get It' we close ourselves off from learning more or from being open to accepting alternative views. We then make decisions based on inaccurate or limited data which clearly will have an impact on the quality of the decisions we make, whether personally or professionally. For unimportant issues this is likely fine. It's the important decisions that will suffer and that will cost us.

The easiest way to combat the 'I Get It' Syndrome is to question everything. Question your preconceived notions about how things work and about why they work. Question what you know about your business, about the market, customers needs, about what's not working and why. Some of the most successful business leaders of all time used this technique to great advantage. Challenging assumptions and beliefs opened them to exploring 'new' possibilities.

Ask... 'If this weren't true, then what?

The more important your decision, the more important the need to suspend your 'I get it' thinking. Listen, Question, Learn. The more open you can remain, the broader your insights and the better the decision. Better quality decisions lead to greater success and opportunities. A nice price to pay for not 'getting it' quite as often.

Leadership Lessons from Ants

A single ant is not particularly smart.  However, an ant colony is.  A colony can solve problems together that would have its individual members stymied.

• finding the shortest path to the best food source
• allocating workers to different tasks
• defending their territory from others

As a group (colony) they respond quickly and effectively to their environment.  No leadership is required.  Even complex behaviour can be coordinated by relatively simple interactions, using Swarm Intelligence.  Swam Theory (or swarm intelligence) is described as the collective behaviour of decentralized, self-organized systems.  In nature we see this swarm behaviour in...

• ants quickly determining the shortest route to their nearest food source
• bees deciding on a new hive location
• bird flocks diving and swirling through the air, instantaneously and seemingly effortlessly changing directions
• schools of fish avoiding the rush of a predator, even though most don't even see the attack

The study of swarms and their associated behaviours have helped shape the mathematical procedures for solving relatively complex problems like routing trucks, scheduling airlines or even guiding military drones.  Many systems we are familiar with take advantage of the collective intelligence of swarms in helping us to form our judgments and make decisions.  Checking in with Yelp results or following the racing odds to place a horse bet all rely on the input of a 'swarm'.  

Certainly decentralized problem solving works better on some problems than it does others; in particular problems that require discovery, testing, and comparing results seem to work best.  But computerized systems are helping businesses to control costs by leveraging the volume of input and data, allowing organizations to act upon complex and rapidly changing sets of data.  Southwest Airlines has used swarming principles to help them streamline their cargo operations, Telecom companies have used it to help them manage their phone call routing systems instantly and shipping companies are containing their costs by programming computers to determine trucking routes that factor in current energy and manufacturing costs, developing new routes daily.

It seems that we still have much that we can learn from Mother Nature. 

Despite the fact that swarm intelligence is all about the non-existence of formal leadership, there are still some lessons that we, as leaders, can take and apply that may enhance the strength and productivity of our teams.

• Maintain a flexible structure.  In assigning specific roles to individuals, organizations often inadvertently create silos within which teams and individuals operate.  However, swarm behaviour clearly shows us that we must allow our talent to cross the functional lines more readily.  We must allow our talent to flow in and throughout the organization if we are to continue to take advantage of the most current and best information that we have available to us.
• Pay attention to the allocation of labour.  We may have people that perform very specialized tasks for us, but all need to understand that the allocation of work is flexible.  In times of crisis or in the face of a unique problem, all must come together to solve it, requiring each to let go of the 'its not my job' mentality.  A 'nurse' bee will shift to a 'forager' when food is scarce.  It doesn't make sense to refuse to bail when the ship is sinking, simply because that wasn't the job you were hired to do.  All must understand that the survival of the 'whole' is a function of all.
• Seek Diversity.  When developing your problem solving teams work to ensure that you have a breadth of knowledge at the table.  Your best solutions may come from unexpected sources.
• Listen to everything, not just what you want to hear.  The beauty of the swarm systems is that there is a constant flow of 'new' information. As they hear a 'new' piece of information from a variety of sources they immediately shift to take advantage of it.  If you are hearing something from more than once source it is something you need to deal with, now, whether it was in your 'plan' for the year or not.  Maintain your responsiveness to stay current and competitive.

Just like an ant, you don't have to be the smartest out there to be highly effective.  Follow the lessons of the ants and take advantage of the collective of your colony to help make solid decisions.  You might not have the best solution on your own, but odds are that together, the colony will determine the best direction to take.  

The Common Knowledge Effect on Teams

A great deal of work today is accomplished within and by groups. Often a diversity of experience and knowledge is sought for problem-solving teams, with the intent of capitalizing on the diverse base of expertise represented by the team's members.  We certainly know that group outcomes can benefit from diverse perspectives and expertise, however it is well documented that groups typically fail to capitalize fully on the intellectual assets of its members.

One of the primary problems faced by most teams is what is referred to as the Common Knowledge Effect.  This effect, which has been heavily researched, shows that information that is known by all team members, prior to their discussion, has a more powerful influence on decisions than information that is not previously known by all.

It turns out that relevant information known to (shared by) only a few of the group members is either not introduced to the group at all, or is overlooked when it is shared.  Instead, groups tend to mention and discuss information that is common to and known by all the group members.  Typically, this is because...

• Shared information is socially validating for the members; they know that the information will be accepted by the group.
• Most group member's preferences are supported by shared information. Given that they are more inclined to offer information that supports their preferences, they speak about shared information more.
• People are resistant to changing their initial choices or existing judgments.
• We tend to mistake shared information for critical information, over-weighting its value and importance.

The impact of the common knowledge effect is to therefore eliminate the advantages sought by creating a team of diverse perspectives.  Instead, the group comes together and bases their decisions on information that they all possessed and understood prior.  Any single member would have likely forged as good a decision on their own, as did the group working together.  

For a team to truly be a success they must learn to harness the strengths of all of its members, finding ways to capitalize on the unique knowledge and experiences of each.  This requires the group to recognise the potential impact of the Common Knowledge Effect and to find ways to circumvent it from limiting their insights and options.  

To avoid making false assumptions by basing the decision primarily on shared information, teams should consider...

• Ensuring that all team members get airtime within which to share their expertise
• Ensuring that all information is heard and respected; no information is to be discounted
• If you have members that are reluctant to share their thoughts vocally, consider having all members share relevant information in writing, or conduct a written brainstorming session at the onset of the meeting, prior to discussing the issue.
• Establishing a clear understanding of the strengths of each team member, placing value upon such diversity.
• Emphasizing open inquiry, questioning fully all information brought to the table.

As with most things, understanding that the Common Knowledge Effect is a possibility is the first step to overcoming its biases and influence.  However, you need also be vigilant in guarding against its effects, working to ensure that the expertise of all team members contributes to the decisions and success of the team.  

7 Ways to Become more Decisive

Not everyone is born decisive, able to make choices in life with little input of information or opinions from others.  Some...

• agonize over the details
• lose sleep over the potential impact of each alternative
• get caught up in the analysis of the issues

and... lose time and energy to the process.  As a result, decisions get put off.  Sometimes this is a good thing while at other times it comes with a cost.

It's a fact that some habits come more easily to some of us than others.  We may find ourselves struggling to do something that seems to come naturally for others.  (those of you that can virtuously look at anything chocolate and say NO for instance!) However, there are ways and means for the rest of us to improve upon our more natural inclinations.  When it comes to Decisions, try using the following ideas to help you become more decisive in your life.

1. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.  We all have a limited amount of willpower each day.  Drawing upon yours for things that don't matter depletes it.  Over the course of the day, it can serve to exhaust your reservoirs, leaving you short for the bigger decisions that are sure to follow. Save your energy and focus on the bigger issues, reserving your mental resources for those. When we allow ourselves to get  distracted by the little things we tend to lose sight of what is truly important to us and then get completely immobilized by anything bigger that hits our plate. Learning to let the smaller stuff go leaves you better prepared to face those larger issues more quickly and decisively.
2. Will this Matter a Year from Now?  Let's face it, it is going to be far easier to say don't sweat the small stuff than it is to actually let go of things.  To help you determine 'what' to let go of sooner ask yourself... Will this matter a year from now?  If it won't, let it go.  If it isn't something that is going to have a long-term impact on your life, then it isn't a decision that should be taking up a lot of your brain space.
3. Know Your Values.  Be clear about what is important to you.  Decisions are easier to make when you have something to measure them against.  If you are clear about your values then you can evaluate your decisions by determining which choice best supports your values and choose it.  As Roy Disney once said... "When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier".
4. Use your Back Burner.  Not all of our decisions require our full attention NOW!  Shift some of your decisions to your back burner, allowing your unconscious mind to begin putting together facts and data, forming your decision for you.  Not every decision is urgent and requires an immediate response.  When it is not critical that you decide right away, allow your back burner to work for you while you focus on those issues simmering away on the front burner of your brain.   
5. Give your Gut some Credit.  Sometimes, when faced with indecision, you should just go with your gut.  Your unconscious mind speaks to you through your gut.  You may not know why you are feeling what you are but if it is a strong feeling, and you need to make a decision now, go with your gut and figure it out later.  Our unconscious mind often knows things before our conscious mind is able to make sense of it.  If you must make a decision before the conscious brain has figured things out - go with your gut.
6. Use a Decision Matrix.  You can use a structured approach to some of your decisions, though I suggest pulling out the matrix for the big ones you face, not when trying to decide what you want for breakfast!  For this you evaluate your decision choices against key criteria you have pre-established.  The criteria should include anything that is important to you, but likely is a list containing all your top values, major goals, family, physical, spiritual, emotional impacts, etc. Assign a value from 1-10 for each criteria, for each decision option, indicating how well each option meets/fulfills that criteria, 1 being not at all and 10 being fully.  Add up the scores, for each decision option, across all the criteria you established.  Highest score typically indicates your best option.
7. Flip a coin. Yes, some people make their decisions this way, allowing fate to decide for them. This is not what I am suggesting however.  To gain insight from the coin toss proceed as you would normally, assigning each option to either head or tails and then toss the coin in the air.  Pay attention to what you are hoping the outcome will be, before the coin lands.  Typically our thoughts, while the coin is in the air, will reveal to us what our preferred decision is.  

Giveaway - Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip & Dan Heath

Chip & Dan Heath

At a recent Conference, held here in Toronto, I had the opportunity to hear one of my heroes speak. Yes, Tony Robbins was there and was great as Tony always is, but I have to say I was more excited to hear Chip Heath. Now, the name may not ring as many immediate bells for you as Tony Robbins’ name may, but, together with his brother Dan, Chip Heath is the author of two of my favourite business books – Made to Stick and Switch. It was a pleasure then to hear him speak about their most recent book release – Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work.

We are bombarded daily with the need to make a multitude of decisions, ranging from the relatively inconsequential to those of significant import to our lives and careers. As the Heath brothers point out though, our decisions are influenced, typically unconsciously, by an array of biases, irrationalities, emotions, and information all serving to make our decision making process flawed.

The point of the book is, of course, to provide strategies and tools to help us to make better decisions. If this book serves only to help you stop agonizing over your decisions, or to establish better team and group decision-making processes, or assists you in breaking through those difficult personal decisions, it will be worth its price. Given that I am offering you an opportunity to get this book for free… it is beyond worth it!

Simply follow the directions below to get your name entered into the Great Book Giveaway! If you have read the book, I encourage you to leave your thoughts about it in the comments. The contest runs until August 20 when I will select a randomly drawn entrant. If you wanted to tweet the link to this giveaway, or post it to your blog or favourite social networking site, you will receive an additional entry for each. Just post where you have linked us in the comments section.