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✿ ZACH HARRIS ✿
@zachharris.eth
Repost from the author of Mastering Uncertainty, Matt Watkinson: s/o https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-watkinson/ 1/ Seventy-five years ago the sociologist David Reisman made a profound observation about society. He explained that there are three major influences on our decision-making: Tradition directed: we do it because we’ve always done it. Inner directed: we do it because it’s concordant with our character. Other directed: we do it because everyone else is doing it. He postulated that the rise of consumerism would alter the balance away from tradition and inner directed behaviors and make us increasingly other directed.
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✿ ZACH HARRIS ✿
@zachharris.eth
2/ In other words, we would increasingly make our decisions based on fitting in, FOMO, and the trends or consensus of the day, rather than any sort of cogent or critical analysis, a sense of our own character, or the cultivation of our own tastes or perspectives. Obviously he was correct, and I would argue that the internet and social media accelerated the trend. But what he didn’t write about, because it wasn’t part of the brief perhaps, is how other-directeness would come to dominate business decision-making. Looking back on my last twenty years in the work place, it is self-evident that the driver of most commercial decision-making is not data, it is not analysis, it is not strategy, it is not critical thought, it is not business theory, it is not academia, it is not visionary leadership. It is far simpler than that. Most people just look around and do whatever everyone else is doing.
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@zachharris.eth
3/ Not only that. Business decision-makers are particularly susceptible to this behavior precisely because they believe they are not. Because they have dashboards, and executive committees, and consultants, and conduct research they delude themselves into thinking that they are making informed, independent-minded decisions. However, the research they conduct, the strategies they implement, and the areas of opportunities they pursue have already been blinkered and determined by the insidious machinations of other-directedness. If you’re looking for a model of how people make decisions in the workplace, the recent trend of turning yourself into a shrink-wrapped, children’s toy is actually the perfect metaphor.
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