The title of the blog comes from an old U2 song and was inspired by Donna Hamilton, the Director of Enterprise Development Corporation. She was running a 5k race two weekends ago when something extraordinary happened…Relatively early in the race, when the course turned left, much of the pack kept running straight ahead. The lead group missed the turn sign and everyone just kept going. Donna alertly noticed the discrepancy and made the proper turn. Her unwillingness to simply accept whatever the “pack” was doing allowed her to be one of the race’s top finishers. It was a non-competitive, 1980’s versus 1990’s themed run that featured an overdose of day glow colors, flannel shirts and leg warmers. The race was sponsored by a local, awesome brewery (Logboat Brewery) so plenty of great beer was flowing. It maybe wasn’t the Boston Marathon, but as I always say, a win is a win, so hey…, it was a great finish. Donna used her legs and more importantly, her head, to pull off the finish.
This story reminded me of our friend the lemming, a small rodent known for following pack leaders straight off a cliff to their doom. Experts believe that this behavior may be caused by cycles of massive over population followed by a very strong, to put it mildly, urge to reproduce. They are all thinking the same thing and are following a leader who does not care where they go as long as they get their fast (to be honest, this sounds much like my teenage years).
I think the cartoons below are hilarious, but I would not call the lemming in front a leader. A true leader would never blindly follow a path following some instinct, urging his charges on without contemplating the end game.
I think the cartoons below are hilarious, but I would not call the lemming in front a leader. A true leader would never blindly follow a path following some instinct, urging his charges on without contemplating the end game.
Why then do so many organizational heads, business owners and government officials tend to blindly charge forward and follow trends without contemplating the consequences? The answer is that many people are wired to follow. According to a study published in the Telegraph, biologists studying the herding instinct of humans analyzed the road crossing behavior of pedestrians at a crossing in a busy city center. They found that pedestrians were up to 2.5 times more likely cross a busy road if someone else stepped out in front of the traffic first. In some cases, individuals started to cross before scuttling back to the curb after realizing the danger they were in.
So, how do we avoid running off the business “cliff” when making big decisions, since research indicates we are programmed to follow? Here are some ideas:
- Listen to dissenting opinions. People with dissenting opinions can help clarify an issue. Rather than simply dismissing an opinion as being negative, probe deeper to determine what that person is seeing that you are not.
- Talk to your banker, accountant or consultant. They often have vast experiences that spread across varying industries. It is quite possible that these professionals have insights based on experiences that might prove invaluable when contemplating a big decision.
- Sleep on it. Very few big decisions and directional changes have to be made in haste. Hasty decisions usually lead to giving “a prince from Nigeria” your bank account number so he can deposit his fortune there. Please never confuse haste with agility.
- Listen to your gut. If you are having doubts, listen to your intuition. Those doubts manifest for a reason. Listen to yourself intently to determine what is the cause of the misgivings.
- Use data. Sometimes it can seem counterintuitive when someone says “Listen to your gut AND be data driven.” Your instincts usually start kicking in when something might be going wrong. You can usually make an informed decision by listening to your instincts and then using data to prove or disprove the concern.
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