Blog

Category: risk management

self-serving bias

Watch for the negative impact of self-serving bias in decision-making

The self-serving bias is a concept that has been extensively studied in social psychology.  Essentially, it is people’s tendency to attribute positive events to their own character but attribute negative events to external factors. It’s a common type of cognitive

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thinking ahead

Thinking ahead in sidewalk construction … and in leadership

A few days ago, I watched a couple of workers put down a sidewalk just outside my office window.  They poured in concrete, and carefully leveled the surface until it was perfectly smooth.  And then, much to my surprise, they

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proactive

Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready: the value of being proactive

A unexpected lesson in leadership from the hip-hop (rap) culture. Really! Merge explains.

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Does risk-taking scare you?

I was recently having a discussion with a client about risk-taking, and I was reminded of an old Indian folklore story my mom told me many years ago.  It was about a farmer who was asked whether he planted wheat

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Periods of vulnerability can present both threats and opportunities

Recently I had a conversation with a scientist friend who told me how biologists use information about animal life cycles to accomplish diametrically opposite objectives – in some cases to purge populations, and in others to conserve them.  The secret:

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Worrying won’t help you solve problems or make decisions

A couple of years ago, I wrote a short series on decision-making here on the blog, and I was reminded of that recently when I read the following quote about worrying: “Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you

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