Constructive Cynicism Part 2

Natural Susceptibility

One of humankind's fundamental traits is the need to know "why." For most of human history, the important questions of our existence were answered through mythology. In the 1600s, the scientific method and natural laws began to replace such explanations of phenomena; humankind entered the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment. Our need to understand "why," however, didn't diminish. All that changed were our methods for explaining it.

Most of us are uncomfortable with ambiguity; we seek clarity and simplicity. Managers not only share these drives, but also need the assurance of certainty to function effectively. As methods and relationships become more abstract and complex, it becomes increasingly difficult for managers to (1) critique them and (2) rally their companies' support with clear direction for using the new insights.

We all work with individuals who seem to hear only what they want to hear, and see only what they want to see. The harsh reality is that at some level, this selectivity describes all of us.

New Guidelines

If managers are to escape the traps that their selectivities institute, then they must radically change the ways they approach problem solving. And they must be watchful that the processes they use to review and agree to recommendations are geared toward open objectivity.

Recognizing our biases is the first step in controlling biased acceptance, and constant vigilance is the only way to minimize its destructive influence. This includes management scientists (those whom managers trust for guidance) who aim to uncover new relationships, while questioning and testing existing beliefs. There should be as much reward for confirming a current practice as there is for identifying a totally new solution.

One of the most important changes that managers need to make is in how they respond to new ideas and practices. Only by continually challenging current business practices and management's preconceived notions can managers recognize analytically supported myths, and therefore avoid them. Managers must learn to match their willingness to accept proffered ideas with an instituted cynicism. Too often, we close our minds once we believe that we've received wisdom.

Managers should react not only by evaluating everything that is good about a new practice, but also by considering everything that might be wrong with it. "Looking for warts on the Mona Lisa" is one method of defending against biased acceptance. The goal isn't to reinforce a decision rigidity that stifles risk-taking. It is to provide a balance, so that preventive and contingent action plans are developed to better ensure each newly implemented practice's success.

In the critical review, managers should spell out the elements that could go wrong, or perform "potential problem analysis":

• What aspects of the practice are based on supposition or inference?
• What events or conditions are required for the practice to be successful?
• How will it be known that the practice is accomplishing its objectives? What benchmarks can be instituted?
• What contingent action plans are available if the expected outcomes don't materialize?

Another suggested change is for managers to demand even more from the consultants who serve them. Although one of the advantages that a consultant brings is an objective view from the outside, too many consultants bring the view from outside some other company. Consultants must control their proclivities toward generalizing recommendations.

Too often, consultant recommendations are based on hastily drawn conclusions from incomplete analyses of situations; correlations are interpreted as causal without complete information. They should invest time and effort in exploring/testing the ideas they dispense, and demonstrate the validity of their solutions prior to proposing them to clients. In this way, not only would clients be better served, but also the science of business would be more readily advanced. And in response, clients must avoid the mentality associated with the "others are doing it" culture discussed previously.

Finally, managers must be willing to protect the decisions they've made, offering them the opportunity for success. That means instead of distancing themselves from an implemented practice, they remain as close as possible--to control for or head off any unforeseen complications that might unfairly derail the initiative.

Maintaining Vigilance

Analytically supported myths are like exotic weeds in a garden. Try as we might to stamp them out, without perseverance they will continue to reemerge. And with the temptations created by biased acceptance, they will always appear more beautiful than they are. The solution rests with three constituencies:

1. Managers must constantly question the underlying assumptions of the new views and perspectives they are offered.
2. Consultants should act in a more scientific manner, imposing greater discipline on their appraisals of new paradigms.
3. Management scientists should be encouraged to not only discover new relationships but also question and test existing systems.

Only in this way can businesses guard against the dangerous consequences of continuing to fall victim to biased acceptance.

This article has been reprinted with the permission of Marketing Management magazine. For more details go to www.marketingpower.com.