Idea in Brief
The Status Quo
Experience: We think of it as our guide, a reliable source of insight and the foundation of our expertise. As we make decisions, we rely on our experience and on what advisers and confidants tell us about theirs.
The Problem
We view our experience through multiple filters that distort reality, limiting our ability to figure out what’s actually going on around us. As a consequence, our experiences fool us instead of making us wiser.
The Solution
We can base our decisions on a clearer view of the world if we focus not just on outcomes but on the processes that lead to them; learn from near misses; encourage disagreement and the search for disconfirming evidence; and broaden our perspective. May
We rely on the weight of experience to make judgments and decisions. We interpret the past—what we’ve seen and what we’ve been told—to chart a course for the future, secure in the wisdom of our insights. After all, didn’t our ability to make sense of what we’ve been through get us where we are now? It’s reasonable that we go back to the same well to make new decisions.
