Everyone has a moment that requires a decision. It can be an easy one or a difficult one. However, the key process is sometimes neglected or omitted in the name of “customary rules” or “common knowledge.” We can see cases where people easily accept a situation because of familiarity and act as they usually do.
Familiarity Can Hide Potential Problems
According to Daniel Kahneman, humans have two kinds of thought processes, named System 1 and System 2, and we handle many situations based on these effective systems. That is why we make decisions quickly without thoughtful processes regarding familiar issues or cases that we have already experienced. What I would like to share is that possible problems can lie underneath this familiarity.
Recently, I received a report that there were some issues in a marketing team. The team members thought that the management process and budgeting were clear and handled efficiently. However, there was a loophole: the monitoring system did not work well. They thought that overall efficiency was maintained and that the budget was controlled under their scrutiny, so tasks such as checking whether the weekly or monthly balances matched were no longer considered important. When I heard about this issue from people on a different team, it sounded not normal but problematic. What makes this difference?
We sometimes pass over tedious or routinely occurring cases without being aware of the problem. Because we do not have the right principles and standards for making decisions about these potential issues, we tend to handle such cases according to our convenience or preferences. That is why principles are crucial and should be established as basic rules for every decision when it comes to official situations.
Principles Provide Standards for Better Decisions
Before relying on our common sense and convenience, we have to look at the situation with an unfamiliar attitude. We should also check whether there are regulations or guiding principles, regardless of our experience and knowledge. By double-checking them, we can avoid making mistakes. This small point can be connected to the better insights and behavioral standards that we need to develop throughout our long-term careers.