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Posted by on Jun 11, 2012 in Business, Leadership | 3 comments

Falling off the Cliff with the Rest

 

Research shows that it takes but only a few people to influence the majority to follow the lead of a minority. If you had a hunch that we are like sheep you’re right. Apparently the larger the crowd, the smaller the number of people who know why the crowd is going in a particular direction.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself where this herd mentality is influencing your leadership. What about your management decisions? The direction of your organization?

The assumption that the crowd knows best cannot always be true. Sticking with the crowd can leave you behind; create blind spots in your operations, your organizational culture, devolving you and the company into a perpetual state of stuck-ness.

The crowd isn’t bad or wrong. They do create a false sense of comfort. And once lulled by its safety, the cliff comes faster in today’s business environment

 

Art by  Sergio Gil Sanchez

Shawn Murphy (104 Posts)

Change Leader | Speaker | Writer Owner and principal consultant at Achieved Strategies. Co-founder of Switch and Shift. Passionately explores the space where business & humanity intersect. Promoter of workplace optimism. Believes work can be a source of joy. Top ranked on Huffington Post and HR Examiner.


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  • http://gravatar.com/steveborek Steve Borek

    Great leaders that have found their voice say what everyone’s thinking.

    Then you have the group of “leaders” that says what people want to hear.

    It takes chutzpah to state the truth.

    • http://www.switchandshift.com Shawn Murphy

      I love it, Steve. It’s chutzpah and the willingness to stand by the truth even when the crowd doesn’t or doesn’t want to hear it.

      We sure appreciate your support.
      Shawn

  • http://Website Dr. Lisa McCool

    In addition to agreeing with your comments, Shawn, I have noticed of late that too often group mentality is based upon false information, “bad facts”. Pressure to produce results in a quick fashion produces a sense of urgency from which people too frequently do 1/2 or no homework/research. Decisions made in this fashion become the foundation for future poor decisions.

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