In This Episode…
Today has been a very productive day because I have spent time with a colleague sharing ideas and getting a sanity check on each other’s projects. In this episode, I explore the importance to your productivity of involving someone else and getting a second opinion.
I cover topics such as the avoidance of confirmation bias, the perils of the curse of knowledge, System 1 vs System 2 thinking and the importance of having a growth mindset.
Episode Show Notes
00:18 – There is tremendous power in bouncing your ideas off someone else and getting a second opinion.
00:36 – Today I had a brainstorming/idea sharing session with my good friend and colleague Steve Marriott. He is an outstanding coach, facilitator and trainer specialising in applying the principles of neuroscience to behavioural change in the workplace.
01:06 – We decided to help each other by giving feedback on our current projects.
02:17 – Reasons why it is valuable to get a second opinion.
03:14 – Someone else’s perspective can help you overcome confirmation bias – “The tendency to search for, interpret, favour and recall information in a way that confirms one’s pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses”
04:33 – Getting a second opinion will help you overcome another cognitive bias – the curse of knowledge – “Occurs when an individual communicating with other individuals unknowingly assumes that others have the background to understand”
05:25 – Using an iceberg analogy to explain the curse of knowledge.
06:31 – Our brains’ are hardwired for survival and for the minimisation of energy expenditure (so we can survive). That means we naturally do not like to think too deeply about anything so we can conserve “thinking energy” for more important matters. System 1 and System 2 thinking is explained in this context.
07:50 – Involving someone else can help you overcome problems created by the “Good Idea Fairy”.
08:06 – I was able to help Steve gain even greater clarity on his thinking as well as give him some other avenues to pursue.
09:00 – Steve gave me some fabulous insights and tweaks to my presentation that will take it up to the next level – suggestions I’d have never have thought of without his input.
09:57 – The time we have invested in each other and ourselves today has been priceless and has helped move our individual business activities much further forward that we could have done just by ourselves.
10:32 – The importance of having a growth mindset when working with others to get feedback on your projects.
