The problems businesses face today and forever more going forward, are now so complex that there is rarely one right answer. The key for leaders in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, is to realise that the situation now faced is something an individual can no longer deal with alone, not even a capable board of C-suite has the ability. He adds that if they want to be successful, they have to take the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes. In the book The Art of the Start, author Guy Kawasaki uses the red pill as an analogue to the situation of leaders of new organisations, in that they face the same choice to either live in reality or fantasy. Those who choose ignorance rarely fare well. This bias has had a major impact on behaviours and actions during the pandemic crisis.Įvery company knows that the iceberg with their name on it is out there, but if you don’t accept that fact, plan for it and learn how to adapt, then your survivability rates go down. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias during a disaster. Normalcy bias is also referred to as analysis paralysis, or the ostrich effect. Or normalcy bias, which leads people to disbelieve or minimise threat warnings and, consequently, underestimate the likelihood of a disaster. Many are affected by longevity bias, the belief that the “way we’ve always done it” is the best way. History shows us that many companies have collapsed through ostrich-like behaviour, refusing to acknowledge the volatile and complex world in which we now live, and face into the challenges it brings. Surely, it is simply much easier to just ignore it and kick the can down the road. Realising that, by knowing the truth, means you then have to face that complex problem and do something about it. It is often not the inability to find out the truth, but the actual fear of knowing. However, in business, we often see the preference for the “blue pill”, with a fear of embracing hard truths, and an unwillingness to confront comfortable lies.Īt Red Team Thinking, we believe it is the lies we tell ourselves that truly hold us back. They do say ignorance is bliss… but it’s not, is it? Not really. The terms are directly derived from a scene in the 1999 film The Matrix. The red pill and blue pill is a popular meme representing a choice between taking a “red pill”, that reveals the unpleasant knowledge and the cruel truths of everyday life, and taking a “blue pill” to remain in ignorance.
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