Why Smart Teams Make Stupid Decisions – Your Shot of Fearless Culture #382
Where change agents find their weekly dose of culture insights and exercises, one topic at a time.
Some of the worst decisions I've seen teams make didn’t involve heated debates or flawed data.
They felt smooth. Effortless. Everyone was “in sync.”
That’s the problem with groupthink.
It looks like alignment, but it’s actually silence disguised as progress.
People agree to move on, but they don’t really commit to the idea.
Soon, the doubts come out—in private. “I wasn’t convinced.” “This felt off.” “I should’ve said something.”
Groupthink makes us surrender our judgment for the comfort of consensus.
And once that happens, the damage compounds—fast.
Explore how to fight groupthink:
My latest article → How Groupthink Kills Good Decisions
A team exercise to protect good ideas
Resources to fight groupthink
Stay fearless, my friend.
Gustavo
PS: Contribute to my book – answer this question
In Case You Missed It
→ When Leaders Double Down on Bad Decisions
Ask Your Team This
Are we choosing the best ideas—or the safest ones?
⚠️ Try This
Eliminate the noise
Finishing a brainstorming session with too dozens of ideas is overwhelming, often driving to consensus (AKA the lowest common denominator).
Here’s a method I use with teams to protect the best ideas.
Round one: Eliminate ideas that add nothing new, feel too safe, or don’t solve the core problem.
Round two: Challenge what remains.
Would we be proud to present this?
Will this move the needle?
If this were the only idea left, how would we feel?
Instead of looking for the best ideas, start the selection by “removing the noise.”
🍦 Feed Your Curiosity
How assumptions of consensus undermine decision making
Why brainstorming groups kill breakthrough ideas
How AI can kill ideas and make us dumber
When consensus hurts the company
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Gustavo Razzetti
CEO, Fearless Culture