products or services you offer, which new ones you create, how you reach customers and prospects, how you listen to them, how your employees collaborate (or don't), whether they feel seen and heard and valued (or don't). The entire flow of business is one decision made after another. So it makes sense that if you can improve decision-making across the board, your company or team or brand will be more successful. The enemy of decision-making is groupthink, or what researchers call the “social majority” in a company.
GROUPTHINK CAN BE POISON TO YOUR BUSINESS
We all know what it's like at work: we get together for meetings and we need to make decisions on strategy, tactics, who, how, where, and when. We go into these meetings one of two ways:
1 Engaged and fired up about the meeting topic and eager to contribute or …
2 Apathetic and disengaged, because “Nobody ever listens to my ideas anyway—I'm just here to get the decision and then start implementing it. Just doing my job.”
In most companies, in most meetings, groupthink takes over. No one plans that or expects for it to happen, but it does: a few people kick around a few ideas or options on an approach, and after a while, the rest of the group starts nodding. This happens because the people in the meeting all agree on the topic at hand. Or they don't agree, but mentally “fold,” because the power of the social majority of the group is greater than their own power. I'm not talking about a person's position or title within a company or about who is more “powerful.” I am talking about how when people start agreeing, and those who agree become the majority in a discussion, it's easier for the rest to just go along than it is to dissent. It's hard to voice an opinion that is contrary to what the group believes and wants to do. It takes real confidence and bravery to not go with the flow and to speak up with an opinion or view that may not be welcome or well-received. It's easier to just keep quiet and carry on.
A disturbing result of groupthink is that when a group has been working together in the same way for a long time, the group becomes more prone to overlook facts. They see what they want to see, and their minds justify their decisions with thoughts like these:
“We've always done it this way and that's what our customers expect from us.”
“We make most of our profit with this product—we don't want to mess with that.”
“We don't want to alienate any of our core customers by catering to new ones.”
“We know we need to update our approach and reach out to new market segments, but this isn't the year. We need to get our business stabilized first before we invest in anything new.”
You get the idea. The facts may suggest that they take their business strategy in a new direction, but they ignore those facts because it rocks the boat. It's uncomfortable. And unknown. It feels safer and easier not to change anything or explore new ideas and perspectives. And that, right there, is a decision made—and probably a bad one.
DIVERSITY IS THE REMEDY
When a diverse group of people get together, something magical happens. Groupthink becomes harder. Why? Because people from diverse backgrounds alter the behavior of a group's social majority in ways that lead to improved and more accurate decision-making. They do this in three key ways:
1 They focus more on facts.
2 They process those facts more accurately.
3 They are more innovative.
When you're focused on facts and you're processing those facts accurately and without preconceived ideas or preformed opinions, innovative solutions and ideas emerge.
On top of that, diverse people bring different perspectives to the table. A team made up of diverse people will have experiences that differ, and that difference can shape their lens on issues and strategies. Their views and ideas may be fresh and innovative. Having diverse perspectives on a team can lead to innovation, and innovation leads to success. The bedrock of innovation is diversity—it's someone asking, “What if?” The very definition of innovation is new thinking and new approaches—the opposite of groupthink!
Companies spend billions each year to make their companies, products, and people smarter, better, more innovative, and more effective. Creating and working with a diverse team can achieve the same results, and it doesn't cost billions.
If diversity pays dividends—in ways that every company wants—why aren't more companies racing to make their organizations as diverse as they can be? Why do some dismiss or downplay the need to be diverse, or worse, resist it altogether?
The next chapter will cover the things people think and say and the excuses they use to avoid doing anything regarding diversity.
NOTE
1 1 Katie Reynolds, “13 Benefits and Challenges of Cultural Diversity in the Workforce,” Hult International Business School, 2019, https://www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-workplace (accessed February 7, 2021); Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle, Kevin Dolan, Vivian Hunt, and Sara Prince, “Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters,” McKinsey & Co. report, May 19, 2020; Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali, “The Other Diversity Dividend,” Harvard Business Review, July/August 2018.
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