Discover how to enhance decision-making in your organization by focusing on three crucial areas: solving the right problem, gathering all the available information, and understanding the intent. Learn to empower your team, foster a purpose-driven culture, and improve organizational clarity for better decision-making.
The Dangers of Hubris in the COVID-19 Crisis: Learning from History and Embracing Humility
Introduction
Hubris has been a destructive force throughout history, and it seems to be rearing its ugly head again in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. As we grapple with the ongoing pandemic, it is crucial to recognize the role hubris plays in decision-making and its potential impact on our lives and organizations. In this blog post, we will explore the concept of hubris, how it affects our response to COVID-19, and how we can learn from it to avoid making similar mistakes in our personal and professional lives.
What is Hubris?
Hubris is defined as excessive pride or arrogance that results from an inflated sense of self-worth or importance. It often leads to overconfidence, which can have disastrous consequences. Historically, hubris has been a driving force behind many conflicts, including World War II. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, hubris is manifesting itself in the denial of scientific evidence and expertise, as well as a disregard for the advice of public health officials.
COVID-19 and the Resurgence of Hubris
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the role of hubris in our response to the pandemic becomes increasingly evident. Some elected officials and members of the public are choosing to ignore the advice of public health experts and scientists, instead relying on their own beliefs and opinions. This is a dangerous approach, as it can lead to decisions that are not based on the most accurate and up-to-date information.
The problem with this mindset is that opinions are not facts. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, opinions are personal expressions of feelings or thoughts that may not be grounded in data or evidence. Conversely, facts are statements that can be proven true or false based on supporting data or evidence. By ignoring scientific evidence and expert advice, we are putting ourselves at greater risk and prolonging the devastating impact of the pandemic.
The Human and Economic Costs of Hubris
The denial of scientific evidence and expertise in the face of COVID-19 has had severe consequences regarding human lives and economic costs. As of now, over 130,000 people have died in the U.S. due to COVID-19, and this number continues to rise. In addition to the immediate loss of life, long-term health consequences exist for those who survive the virus. Research shows that survivors may experience strokes, blood clotting, heart, lung, and neurological damage. Furthermore, studies on SARS, a COVID precursor, indicate that psychiatric morbidities and chronic fatigue may persist for years after recovery.
These long-term health consequences will also have a lasting economic impact. As survivors struggle with increased health issues, the economic effects of COVID-19 will continue well beyond the development of a vaccine or the achievement of herd immunity. The cost of hubris in this context is immense, with severe repercussions for both human lives and the economy.
Learning from the COVID-19 Crisis: Avoiding Hubris in Our Own Lives
As we navigate the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it is essential to recognize the dangers of hubris and take steps to avoid it in our personal and professional lives. Here are some suggestions for combating hubris:
- Be open to new information and be willing to change your mind.
When presented with new data or evidence, be open to reevaluating your beliefs and opinions. This flexibility will allow you to make more informed decisions. - Recognize the limits of your own knowledge and expertise.
No one is an expert in everything, so it is crucial to acknowledge when you are out of your depth and seek advice from those with relevant expertise. - Emphasize facts over opinions.
When making decisions, prioritize factual information and evidence over personal feelings or beliefs. This will help ensure that your choices are grounded in reality and have a solid foundation. - Foster a culture of humility and learning.
In your personal and professional life, create an environment where people feel comfortable admitting and learning from their mistakes. This can help prevent the development of hubris and encourage continuous growth and improvement. - Encourage open dialogue and collaboration.
Promote open communication and collaboration among team members, colleagues, and friends. This can help ensure that a variety of perspectives and expertise are considered, ultimately leading to better decision-making. - Be aware of confirmation bias.
We all have a tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs while disregarding evidence that contradicts them. Be conscious of this tendency and actively work to challenge your own biases. - Practice empathy and compassion.
Take the time to put yourself in others’ shoes and consider their perspectives and feelings. This can help to counteract the arrogance and self-centeredness that often accompany hubris. - Reflect on past experiences and learn from them.
Regularly review your past decisions and actions, identifying instances where hubris may have played a role. Use these experiences as learning opportunities to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
Conclusion
The resurgence of hubris during the COVID-19 crisis serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of arrogance and overconfidence. By recognizing the role of hubris in our decision-making processes and taking steps to avoid it, we can minimize its destructive consequences on our lives and organizations. As we continue to navigate the pandemic, let us use this opportunity to learn from our mistakes and strive for humility, open-mindedness, and fact-based decision-making.
Copyright (c) 2020, Marc A. Borrelli
Recent Posts
Boosting Common Sense Decision-Making in Your Organization
Do You Understand Your Costs to Ensure Profitability?
You can only determine profitability when you know your costs. I’ve discussed before that you should price according to value, not hours. However, you still need to know your costs to understand the minimum pricing and how it is performing. Do you consider each jobs’ profitability when you price new jobs? Do you know what you should be charging to ensure you hit your profit targets? These discussions about a company’s profitability, and what measure drives profit, are critical for your organization.
Sunk Costs Are Just That, Sunk!
If you were starting your business today, what would you do differently? This thought-provoking question is a valuable exercise, especially when it brings up the idea of “sunk costs” and how they limit us. A sunk cost is a payment or investment that has already been made. Since it is unrecoverable no matter what, a sunk cost shouldn’t be factored into any future decisions. However, we’re all familiar with the sunk cost fallacy: behavior driven by a past expenditure that isn’t recoupable, regardless of future actions.
Do You REALLY Know Your Business Model?
Bringing clarity to your organization is a common theme on The Disruption! blog. Defining your business model is a worthwhile exercise for any leadership team. But how do you even begin to bring clarity into your operations? If you’re looking for a place to start, Josh Kaufman’s “Five Parts of Every Business” offers an excellent framework. Kaufman defines five parts of every business model that all flow into the next, breaking it down into Value Creation, Marketing, Sales, Value Delivery, and Finance.
Ideation! Harder Than It Sounds
Bringing in new ideas, thoughts, understanding, and logic is key as your organization faces the challenges of a changing environment. But when you do an ideation session in your organization… how does it go? For so many organizations, many times, after a few ideas have been thrown out and rejected, the thought process slows down very quickly, and a form of hopelessness takes over. How does your organization have better ideation? I’ve come across a new approach with a few teams lately.
Recruit, Recruit, Recruit!
An uptick in business has begun this quarter, and companies are rushing to hire to meet this surge in demand. What amazes me is how many are so unprepared to hire. Continual recruiting is key to the survival of a company. It isn’t the same thing as hiring—continuous recruiting is building a pipeline of people that you would hire if you needed to fill a position, or “A players” you would hire if they were available.
We All Need Clarity
If your organization is focused on obscurity over clarity, whether intentionally or not, your “A” player employees are vulnerable. There is a looming talent crunch. As we start to emerge from COVID, demand is increasing, and many are scrambling to fill positions to meet that demand. Headhunters and recruiters are soon going to be calling your key “A” employees. Have you been giving them a reason to stay?
Not Another **** Meeting
As Leonard Bernstein put it so well, “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” Your meetings can be shorter, more fruitful, and engaging, with better outcomes for the organization, employees, and managers. It’s time to examine your meeting rhythms and how you set meeting agendas. This week, I break down daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, and individual meeting rhythms, with sample agendas for each.
Is Your Company Scalable?
Let’s start here: Why should your company be scalable at all? If your business is scalable, you have business freedom–freedom with time, money, and options. Many business leaders get stuck in the “owner’s trap”, where you need to do everything yourself. Sound familiar? If you want a scalable business that gives you freedom, you need to be intentional about what you sell, and how.
Are you ready for the Talent Crunch?
Companies are gearing up to hire. Unfortunately, many are competing within the same talent pool. Some experts are currently predicting a strong economic recovery starting in May or June. But as the economy booms, there is going to be fierce competition for talent. How will you fare in the looming talent crisis? Your organization should be creating a plan, now, so you can attract the talent you need in the year ahead.