The Status Quo Trap

So, you really decide rationally and objectively in all business issues?

Are you positive?

Fact is, we all carry biases which influence the choices we make.  Did you ever reflect critically, noticing you tend to choose those alternatives that perpetuate the status quo?  People tend to copy.  Let me give you 2 examples about 2 different product designs:

More than 110 years ago when the first Automobiles where designed and planned without horses, the carriages looked very much like the buggies they replaced.  Designers weren´t born yet and car mechanics lacked a vision of how they saw people moving on streets without real horse power…. which definitely changed over time!

100 years later when the internet launched first services for their readers the first electronic newspaper looked very much like their print precursors. (info by HBR)  Seems like people find the status quo comfortable and they avoid taking action for change – which might cause a rejection.  Rejection is no path to success!

But this status quo trap also lies deep within our psyches which carries the desire to protect our egos from damage.  Those who risk change take over responsibility by opening themselves to criticism and regret.  Unfortunately many experiments have shown a magnetic attraction of the status quo.

WHAT  CAN  YOU  DO  ABOUT  IT ?

Well, maintaining the status quo may include the best decision but don´t just decide due to simply acting comfortable with each choice.  Here´s what you can do:

• remind yourself of your objectives and examine how they would be served by the status quo.  Do elements of the situation you want to change act as barriers to your goal?
• never think of the status quo as your only alternative!
• ask yourself whether you would choose the status-quo alternative if it weren´t the status quo…..
• remember that the desirability of the status quo will change over time!  Evaluate alternatives in terms of the future + the present

As a leader, permanently making small and big decisions, remember that often change is expected and therefore avoid finding yourself stuck with the status quo.

BE A DECISION MAKER.  BECOME OUTSTANDING.

rita jaskolla – Leadership Architect –