As a therapist and co-founder of Flank 5 Academy, it’s interesting to see the many parallels between the challenges that individuals and organizations face. While we talk more often about the technology, the idea, and the business – we know well that many of the forces that are moving us forward or holding us back are the human forces that live within our own heads. Here are 7 blind spots for start-ups anchored in psychology that you need to watch for:
1) Bystander Effect: We assume someone else will do it or is doing it. This notion became famous when a woman was murdered in NYC in the 1960’s and while over 30 people heard her cries for help and no one called 911. The answer why: everyone assumed someone else was. Do not assume, or “pre-terminate” your idea because you think someone is already doing it or doing it like you. The winner won’t be the better idea anyway but who gets it to market with the better execution.
2) “Safety” in coding: People, and organizations, will retreat to safety under threat. For humans, that involves reverting to what we like to do and feel safe doing because we are good at it. For organizations, particularly with a team of coders, this might look like continuing to code (which is more fun, what we are expert at, and why we started the business in the first place) rather than getting out and talking to customers. If it always feels ‘safe’, you’re probably doing something wrong.
3) Information Stalling: People have a tendency to seek more information even when it will not or cannot effect the decision making process. Ironically, in a corporate context, we are often taught this by watching the smartest person in the room: “I need more information before I decide that.” The reality is that many decisions can be made right now. You really don’t need any new information, particularly when as a start-up you don’t always have the luxury to wait. Go decide with what you know.
4) Recency Effect: Have you ever seen children learn a new word and then overuse it because of their excitement at having obtained “new” knowledge? Adults do the same thing. We have the false understanding that what is new to us is new to the world. It’s worth structuring processes of creation to include checkpoints to see what else is in the marketplace – not to say no (see #1 above) but to refine and be more strategic, or borrow what is already out there. Leaders in particular need to cultivate a culture of people bringing external comparisons even though it can “hurt”.
5) Just-World Hypothesis: This one is tougher to think about: we think (want to believe!) the world is a just place, but oftentimes it is not. We are programmed to think that if I work harder, the idea is better, the widget is faster, my resume is stronger, that the world will recognize it and reward me. We operate on this assumption, but the assumption is usually not true. Strategy and execution (which involves timing and yes a dose of luck) determines winners and losers in the marketplace. Take this as encouragement that your idea might have been great, just not at this particular time. Start-ups and their founders must know this and keep pushing for more products that can hit at the right time.
6) IKEA Effect: We have excessive pride for the things we build ourselves. It’s a brilliant model for IKEA furniture that has people boasting over what the (not particularly strong) furniture they made but a blindspot for tech start-ups who may not be as open to the feedback from users. You have to actively surrender pride of ownership to make your technology better through structured exercises to get our self-protective ego out of the way.
7) Over-Confidence Bias: In controlled studies, for certain types of questions, answers that people rate as "99% certain" turn out to be wrong 40% of the time. This is another tough one to reconcile because we also know and push founders to proceed with confidence (and repetition) in the face of adversity, but the data is the data. Over-confidence can lead to poor decision making, but it can also lead to progress and moving the organization forward. Like many other human attribute it needs to be managed in order to find the right balance.
Eric Connor is a licensed therapist in downtown Chicago and is also the Co-Founder of Flank 5 Academy (@Flank5Academy), a 10-week personal incubator for people looking to define their professional futures (www.Flank5Academy.com). He holds a MS in Computer Science from the University of Chicago, a MA in Counseling from National-Louis and a BA from the University of Michigan, and is a frequent speaker on the topics of addiction, entrepreneur psychology, and facilitating professional change in our lives.
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