The 6 Unconscious Biases that can Kill Your Sales and Your Business
Basic human nature can get in the way of making smart business decisions. It happens to the best of us – we're only human.
Oftentimes, the inadvertent self-sabotage preventing us from achieving success is rooted in our unconscious biases and in our inherent resistance to change.
How many of you have heard – or have even uttered yourself – the seven most dangerous words in business:
“We’ve always done it this way.”
And how many of you have seen, or used, the following words to describe your company?
Agile, innovative, nimble
See how these two examples are diametrically opposed?
It’s a perfectly human reflex to label something the way you wish it were instead of the way it actually is because let’s face it, there is comfort in doing what feels familiar but risk – perceived or real – in trying something new and different.
However, as business leaders, we need to embrace the idea that
there is real risk in NOT changing.
Leadership textbooks are full of cases where a bias towards the status quo has led to disaster. Take the classic cautionary tale of Kodak as an example...
By learning to spot the biases that result in change-resistance, you can not only avoid sinking your own business, but also help your customers and clients steer clear of the same pitfalls.
The 6 Unconscious Biases to be on Alert for
Below, I have listed for you the six biases that influence a leader’s decision-making – or worse – indecision-making that can lead to stagnation and business failure.
Have you experienced some of these yourself maybe?
Availability Heuristic: “We just got an order last week, so things must be turning around.”
Anchoring Error: “This feels just like the last downturn. I'm sure we’ll come back eventually.”
Bandwagon Effect: “My team agrees this will resolve itself.”
Confirmation Bias: “I found three different studies that support my view that this is just a temporary downturn.”
Information Bias: “We need to study this more before we act irrationally.”
Optimism Bias: “If we do the things we usually do in a downturn, everything will be OK.”
There you have them, the 6 excuses to continue doing the same thing, while expecting different results.
Some of these biases may even sound reasonable at first.
That’s precisely their allure, and why so many leaders get caught in them without realizing the danger. However, i reckon these 6 are at the core of every bad business decision ever made.
What’s Next?
What will you do the next time someone introduces you to a new idea or way of doing things?
Will you fall back on the comfort of business as usual and continue pulling at the cart with square wheels?
Or, will you keep an open mind and look beyond the imminent end-of-the-month or end-of-the-quarter to see a better way of doing business?
Will you be wise enough to accept that the status quo is not always the best way to continue on, and that someone out there might know a better way to get ahead and be successful?
Your business can be agile, innovative, and nimble if you choose for it to be, if you decide to act.
Will you accept that you don’t always know what you don’t know?
Let’s talk if you’d like to find out what you don’t know you don’t know...
Contact me for an obligation-free call.
Peter Strohkorb
About
Peter Strohkorb is the Founder and Principal of Peter Strohkorb Advisory, the international Sales Acceleration Advisory firm with a growing list of clients in the B2B services and tech space in the US, Australia, and in the UK.
Our motto is: “More Sales, Faster”, and that is exactly what we deliver to you, our clients.
Contact
Phone AUS: +61 (0)411 865 301 | pstrohkorb@peterstrohkorb.com
Phone US: +1 (628) 246-1242 | peterstrohkorb.com