Tag: confirmational bias

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Constructive “no-people” will help you succeed

We see many examples today of leaders who can’t see the reality around them.

One characteristic of these leaders is that they tend to surround themselves with people who either agree with everything they do or say, or are to scared to offer a contrary view.

The trap then is that confirmational bias risks taking you deeper into problems and messes because you don’t get exposed to alternate views and ideas. You risk not being able to see reality, and making matters worse.

So, you should not surround yourself with “yes-people”

And, a “no-person” who is just a no-person is also a no-no! 

You need constructive no-people….


“I do not wish to hire yes-men.  Yes-men come cheap . . .what we are looking for is what I call constructive no-men.  My own personal rule for very many years has been that anybody is free to criticise me, to criticise the company, to question or argue against anything that we are trying to do – provided they will satisfy the one criterion that they will tell us what I or the company should do differently.”;
Source: Harvey-Jones J (1988)  Making it happen.  Fontana, London.  P.89

And remember that recruiting is perhaps the most important task you will undertake if your business is to be successful!

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What happens when we remain silent?

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Are you having difficulty getting heard?  Being drowned out?  Facing criticism? As much as your critics count you may have more to fear from silent friends, or rather the silence of friends in important public debates.

It’s frustrating when you feel that your voice has not been heard. It is even more frustrating when your arguments are misrepresented, or even dismissed, by antagonists to take and entrenched position, all are unprepared to accept the possibility that they might be wrong. The people who only want to hear views that are similar to their own. You can’t even have an informed discussion. Blocked so you cannot be heard.

But where are your friends? Your supporters in the debate?

Think of it in another way. Have you ever seen somebody in difficulty trying to make a point or express a view or argue a case in the face of unreasonable and at times uncharitable attacks? What have you done? Have you joined the fray? Or do you remain silent?

What happens when we remain silent? When we remain silent we encourage continued isolation from the facts.

Continue reading “What happens when we remain silent?”