Defective Thinking

What do they have in common?

· Typewriter manufacturers

· Film camera manufacturers

· Payphone services

· Blackberry

· Video rental stores

· Rolodex manufacturers

· Fax machine industry

Well, obviously, they are no longer needed.

But ponder this — these businesses were managed by experienced, educated, well paid, and (supposedly) smart people.

What went wrong? Why did they disappear? I suggest that poor quality thinking is at the heart of the decisions they made and neglected to make.

Poor Quality Thinking

Here are ten varieties of poor-quality thinking. Do any of them apply to you?

· Making decisions based on unverified assumptions.

· Seeking information that confirms pre-existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence.

· Focusing solely on short-term goals and neglecting long-term considerations.

· Making decisions based on intuition instead of evidence.

· Blindly following the opinions of others.