EssentiaLink Identifies Dunning-Kruger Effect as a Serious Problem for CEOs
When people make disappointing choices or reach erroneous conclusions but their unfamiliarity with the subject matter prevents them from realizing their errors, it is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. The first symptom that a CEO or Manager is suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect is that they don't realize that they don't know yet feel and act as if they do.
Westminster, CO, April 19, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Charles Darwin said it best “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”
When people make disappointing choices or reach erroneous conclusions but their unfamiliarity with the subject matter prevents them from realizing their errors, it is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.
“When I read about the Dunning-Kruger effect, it made perfect sense.” Comments EssentiaLink’s CEO, Bill Douglas. “I spend hours discussing IT strategies with other CEOs across the country and typically they express overconfidence in the cost effectiveness of their IT operations. I never understood how they could express so much confidence when IT operations are clearly outside their field of expertise.”
Mr. Douglas identified these common patterns in CEOs thinking about their business operations:
1. The tendency to overestimate their understanding of their own operations.
2. The inability to recognize the genuine value of Business Process Outsourcing as an effective solution to reduce cost and improve efficiency.
3. They don’t seem to know that they don’t know how much inefficient operations are costing them.
As W. Edwards Deming often commented “A system can’t know itself.” CEOs are often too close to their operations to be objective and that closeness is not a substitute for understanding.
To insure companies avoid falling into the trap of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, Douglas suggests CEOs reevaluate what they think they know about departmental operations and establish metrics that will show a department’s true contribution to the strategic direction of the company.
###
When people make disappointing choices or reach erroneous conclusions but their unfamiliarity with the subject matter prevents them from realizing their errors, it is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.
“When I read about the Dunning-Kruger effect, it made perfect sense.” Comments EssentiaLink’s CEO, Bill Douglas. “I spend hours discussing IT strategies with other CEOs across the country and typically they express overconfidence in the cost effectiveness of their IT operations. I never understood how they could express so much confidence when IT operations are clearly outside their field of expertise.”
Mr. Douglas identified these common patterns in CEOs thinking about their business operations:
1. The tendency to overestimate their understanding of their own operations.
2. The inability to recognize the genuine value of Business Process Outsourcing as an effective solution to reduce cost and improve efficiency.
3. They don’t seem to know that they don’t know how much inefficient operations are costing them.
As W. Edwards Deming often commented “A system can’t know itself.” CEOs are often too close to their operations to be objective and that closeness is not a substitute for understanding.
To insure companies avoid falling into the trap of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, Douglas suggests CEOs reevaluate what they think they know about departmental operations and establish metrics that will show a department’s true contribution to the strategic direction of the company.
###
Contact
EssentiaLink
David Hayden
720-259-4976
www.essentialink.com
Bill Douglas (877) 572-4886
David Hayden
720-259-4976
www.essentialink.com
Bill Douglas (877) 572-4886
Contact
Categories