How many of the fads and gimmicks have you witnessed and experienced in your business life? Do you ever feel like a dupe for having followed and practiced some of them? Do you ever wonder why is that we fall for the inane and mind-numbing BS? Almost without fail I get requests from well-known companies and organizations to consult on the most stupid and idiotic current trends, and I scratch my head while emphatically rejecting their requests?

it is very unfortunate and actually, it is a sad state of affairs in our business community, John Maxwell has said many a time in his books and seminars “A leadership position does not make a leader, a leader makes the position” and of course, I am paraphrasing it, but the point is simple, leaders are not made in a weekend or week-long seminars, or by installing someone in a leadership position. The current case in point is the Better.com CEO Vishal Garg, who thought zoom is the appropriate medium for mass firing. Zoom has become a de facto business communication tool during the pandemic, regardless of its popularity and functionality it is not and will never be a replacement for a personal touch, we are humans and not automatons, we require personal connection, we require empathy, compassion, and respect.

When we fall for fads, and gimmicks we are trying to short-cut the most basic business function, which is to be of service to our fellow humans, regardless of what business you are in, whether you sell a product or service, ultimately you are in business to fill a human need. Unfortunately, we are humans and as such we have certain biases that are almost impossible to overcome one of them is “Group Think” a lot of organizations and their management fall for this bias. Because dissent can be uncomfortable and dangerous to one’s social standing, and so often the most confident or first voice will determine group decisions. Because of the Dunning-Kruger effect, the most confident voices are also often the most ignorant.

From the very beginning of our lives, we are indoctrinated into believing and accepting authority figures as knowing best, we are never taught to trust our own intuition and wisdom, in fact, we are told that wisdom only is available to our elders and our leaders so having no other point of reference we fall for this utter stupidity. Everything you ever want to know is already inside of you, yet you have never ever bothered to explore the storehouse of knowledge and wisdom within you.