Why Groupthink Will Delay Your Software Upgrade

Groupthink’ will hold your business back. I read an article in Forbes the other day about traits that will hold you back at work. These are traits that can keep individuals from achieving workplace success, but one trait stood out: The Group Thinker.

What is Groupthink?

“Groupthink is a psychological problem that runs rampant in workplaces. Even more if you’ve got a large population of “longtermers” in a corporation. Groupthink is why technology isn’t updated, why policies are outdated, why there’s no new blood (or ideas) on a team, why you hear the sentence ‘you can’t do that, that’s not how we’ve always done it!’

Reading through the post it dawned on me that this trait is exactly what can keep your company stalled with outdated, inefficient software. Sure, you might be nostalgic for the ‘90s or early 2000’s, but your employees and bottom line will thank you for thinking a bit more along the lines of great innovators – i.e. Steve Jobs or Jack Dorsey. And innovation doesn’t only have to happen in tech companies.

Ways to Innovate

Challenge Rationalizations

Every organization has shared explanations for doing things the way they do. It is your goal to poke holes in those rationalizations and ask tough questions. Why is this standard practice? Are we missing out on automating a process because it has never been done before?

Expose Faulty Thinking

Along those same lines of challenging the status quo, challenge false dichotomies.  Don’t let A or B be the only options, propose C or D as a new way of working.

Keep Thinking Long-Term

Taking a long-term balanced approach is not easy. But emphasis on the short term can trap you into current practice. Help your colleagues pull back, see the big picture, and understand not only short-term gains but long-term consequences.

**References: Harvard Business Review

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