How Assumptions of Consensus Undermine Decision Making

Decision making in today’s global environment requires that managers understand the ways their experiences bias their perceptions of new situations — and hurt the company.

In the early 1990s, a Fortune 100 company contemplated making a sizable investment to manufacture and distribute a core product in Asia. Although the project’s champion knew little about Asia, he was convinced he could succeed there just as he had in the United State. In making his judgment, he overlooked financial, operational and strategic information that contradicted his views. Senior executives, relying on the company’s U.S. experience, gave the go-ahead. After the ...

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