We often end up being victims of thought patterns to which we are accustomed, without examining how effective they are. In such a scenario, the desired outcome eludes us simply because we have failed to ask the appropriate questions or because we have dealt with them in much detail to identify the best solution for a problem.
More than 100 thought patterns that hinder effective thinking have been identified by management specialists and researchers. However, there are eight crucial ones that executives could do well to remember. An acronym that will aid in remembering them is CAT MAGIC.
1. Confirmation bias
This refers to modifying evidence to support personal beliefs. How many times do you actually seek information that confirms your viewpoint as against proof that is neutral? The best method to tackle this problem is to look for information that contradicts your beliefs.
2. Attribution (or self-serving) bias
This refers to attributing good events that occur to us to internal factors and bad events to external ones and believing that the contrary holds good with regard to other people. This bias makes us categorize others’ actions, especially unacceptable behavior, as solely the individual’s fault and not the situation.
3. Trusting testimonial evidence
This refers to believing information from another person, even in the absence of evidence to support it. Studies consistently prove that people are more likely to purchase something based on someone else’s recommendation as opposed to an effective advertisement or a marketing strategy. But, how many of these people verify such recommendations?
4. Memory lapses
Although this appears self-explanatory, it can be highly dangerous as human tendency is to fill in the memory gaps with information that is often untrue. Thus, we often make up things as we proceed, which often hinders our ability to make decisions based on facts.
5. Accepting authority without question
Researcher Stanley Milgram conducted several experiments in which many people were found to be willing to inflict increasingly more powerful shocks to other people simply because they had been ordered to do so by a higher authority, although they were not sure whether it was the right action. This behavior continues even at present in the form of a blind acceptance of people whose degrees and expertise remain unverified.
6. Generalizing from very few observations
In consumer marketing, a commonly observed practice is that of a small group of people determining the direction of advertisement campaigns worth several million dollars, although the views of these people cannot be extended to a larger population. A similar trend can be seen in the case of a small group of board members executives discussing a particular issue. We must be conscious and avoid falling into such traps. One method to tackle the bias inherent in such small groups is to look for unbiased input from employees lower in the organizational hierarchy.
7. Ignorance and not acknowledging it
Ignorance is bliss; but this leads to information that is fabricated. Instead of admitting lack of knowledge on a particular issue, a person is most likely to offer his/her opinion based on false premises and sound very convincing, thereby making it appear true. You should be wary of persons who put forth answers to questions very rapidly or are very slow in accepting their lack of knowledge about something.
8. Coincidence (or the Law of Truly Large Numbers)
This refers to the false view that bits of information have a cause and effect relation, while they are actually the result of coincidence. In any large block of data, you can observe connections, but they don’t imply anything. For instance, there may be a few CEOs of hospitals who have red hair, but this does not establish any link between a CEO and red hair. But, we normally think that causal links exist with regard to events or dates where none actually do.
Just like any other good habit in life, effective thinking is just a question of converting ideas into habits that become our second nature. You must first acknowledge that your critical thinking skills require honing and then take steps to improve them. Only when you begin to utilize these skills on a regular basis in various scenarios will you imbibe them, which will lead to good results in the long run. For people in top positions, critical thinking is vital and must become a habit similar to breathing, and must be integrated as part of their core leadership qualities.