PALO ALTO, Calif.–It seems so straightforward for any leader within the credit union community: the rational way to make a tough decision is to gather all the evidence about the alternatives, analyze the pros and cons, judiciously weigh all those factors, and finally come to a sensible decision. But it doesn't always work that way.
And the reason is the same brain that should proceed through those rational steps usually gets in the way. The reason: your brain really isn't built to be rational. For one thing, it's human nature to obsess about the negative.
For example, recent research out of the Stanford Graduate School of Business finds most humans are really bad at weighing pros and cons. Negatives, it seems, just affect us more.
"Suppose you are evaluating a person -- for example, a job candidate -- and you make a list of his or her positive and negative qualities," explained Stanford marketing professor Zakary Tormala to Insights by Stanford. "Even assuming you come up with positives and negatives that are equally relevant and compelling, the negatives tend to carry more weight."
What that means, wrote one analyst, is that even if an alternative (say a potential hire, a hotel we might book, or a new career option) is chock full of upsides, just one or two stray negative comments, reviews or possible downsides can paralyze us with doubt. “On the other hand, adding one or two glowing reviews to an otherwise negative picture doesn't generally make us rethink our poor opinion of an alternative,” the research has confirmed.
How can a credit union leader maneuver around this built-in brain quirk? The first step is simply keeping in mind it exists. "It's possible that you could resolve your own internal conflict more quickly, and thus take action more swiftly, by recognizing that negative information has a stronger effect on ambivalence than does equivalent positive information," suggested Tomala.
So, noted analysis of the new research as published on Inc.,com, “the next time one random comment about the cleanliness of a hotel that's otherwise garnered rave reviews is making you rethink booking a room, or a small concern about airport connectedness of the weather in March is holding you back from taking the plunge and moving to a new city, remember this study and weigh your pros and cons list again, this time putting a finger on the scales for the positives.
“By mentally demoting the importance of the negatives and highlighting the pros, you can correct for your natural bias toward negativity and make more sensible choices.”