Groupthink: The Silent Killer of Scalable Strategies

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Scaling a business is a thrilling but challenging endeavor. One hidden roadblock?

Groupthink.

Let's explore why prioritizing culture fit can inadvertently lead to flawed strategies and action plans.

The Allure of "Sameness":

Prioritizing culture fit often leads to teams with similar backgrounds and thinking styles. While this fosters harmony, it can also create an echo chamber where:

• Critical Thinking Takes a Backseat: Unchallenged ideas, even if flawed, gain traction due to a desire for conformity and fear of being the "odd one out."
• Blind Spots Emerge: Lack of diverse perspectives leads to overlooking potential risks or missing crucial market trends.
• Unrealistic Plans Persist: Challenging assumptions or proposing bold strategies might be seen as disruptive, hindering the development of adaptable and scalable plans.

The Recipe for Scalable Strategies:

• Embrace Diverse Teams: Seek individuals with varied experiences and viewpoints to spark rich discussions and innovative solutions.
• Psychological Safety: Foster an environment where people feel comfortable questioning assumptions and proposing alternative approaches.
• External Input: Involve consultants or advisors with fresh perspectives to challenge internal biases and identify potential pitfalls.

Remember: Scaling requires adaptability and innovation. While culture fit is valuable, prioritize diversity of thought to ensure your team develops robust strategies and action plans that propel your business towards successful growth.

What I've been doing this week

As a working mum, it's inevitable that there's a balance that needs to be struck between family and business commitments. And this week has been more heavily weighted to family as it's Mocks Week for my 16 year old daughter.

For those of you across the pond who aren't aware of the differences between US and UK education, it means that this week for her is focused on taking test papers under exam conditions, prior to the real thing in May.

Last year, she had 24 exams across 10 subjects, and flipping aced every one of them - I was so proud (and shocked!). This year she's only got three subjects (Biology, Psychology and Law), but with more in-depth content. How well she does this year and next will not only determine whether she can go on to University, but which one and what subjects she can study. Scary that we expect teenagers to be capable of making these life decisions when their brains are still forming ????

She also has to do 30 hours of work experience in a relevant area when her formal exams are finished in June, and I am absolutely indebted to Lucy Johnson and Elliot Stephens at HGF Limited for offering to provide this as I think it will be right up her street!

In the other - business - world, we've just gone live with our PerforMetrix website . If you'd like your business to be one of our Beta testing partners, just drop me a DM.

What I'm Reading

This week, I've been delving into 3 books:

David Robson's The Intelligence Trap - Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

Ron A Carucci's To Be Honest - Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice and Purpose

Michael Hyatt's Your Best Year Ever

The first two were recommended to me as having valuable insights on why Groupthink happens, and how you can avoid it. Both are absolutely worth a read.

The last? I'm a recovering overachiever and perfectionist - both of which mean I'm also the Queen of Procrastination, and Michael's book was recommended to me as a useful framework for rethinking goal-setting.

Links will take you to the getAbstract or Blinkist authorised versions.

Substacks worth subscribing to:? as promised, I've compiled a list of my must-read Substacks, which you can find here .

Three Pillars of Growth?? - 3 Things to Do This Week

1. Strategy: Strategic Customer Deep Dive. Dedicate a focused session (2-3 hours) to delve deep into understanding your customer base. Gather key stakeholders (marketing, sales, customer support) and analyze recent customer interactions (surveys, support tickets). Identify common pain points, emerging trends, and potential new customer segments.
2. Structure: Delegate & Empower. Identify an important task or project currently on your to-do list that could actually be delegated to a member of your team. Consider each team member's strengths and interests when deciding who to delegate to. Clearly define the objectives, ensure they have all the resources they need, and offer ongoing mentorship whilst they are working on it. Do not micro-manage or tell them how to do it, instead focus on the outcome you want them to achieve, and the constraints they have to operate within.
3. Leadership: Host an Open Forum. Schedule an open forum or Town Hall discussion with your team. This could be virtual or in-person, depending on your company culture and working patterns, but needs to be as inclusive as possible. Encourage open dialogue by allowing team members to anonymously submit questions or concerns beforehand, as well as taking questions during the session. Make sure all queries are answered clearly and transparently and practice Active Listening during the event.

Wondering how stable your foundation for the Three Pillars of Growth?? is?? Find out with our FREE (and absolutely no obligation) Three Pillars Power Assessment??

I'll Leave You Now With These Golden Nuggets? ? ? ?

• This week's quote: "Groups under threat tend to become more conformist, single-minded and inward looking. More and more members begin to adopt the same views, and they start to favor simple messages over complex, nuanced ideas.” - David Robson, The Intelligence Trap - Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes, 2019
• Give it a try: The next time your leadership team (or even you as its leader) has to make a key decision try using Benjamin Franklin's moral algebra method to escape groupthink's echo chamber. Though he first described this in 1772, the principles are just as valid today, and can even be found in Six Sigma approaches .

What's been your worst experience of the impact of groupthink?

I'm interested to see if there are common patterns, so please share in the comments below. No naming or shaming though: let's keep this informative, but not (legally) actionable... ??