How to make smarter decisions?

How to make smarter decisions?: I started Caveman in a Suit a little over a year ago. The basic idea behind the website is the while humans have evolved from the caves the way our brains work have not caught up with our new reality. Human thinking and behavior fascinates us, and it has always triggered us to understand why we do the things we do. Especially when we realized that the corporate world of critical thinking and decisiveness is actually a cauldron of irrationality. We like to see ourselves as sophisticated modern business leaders, but the reality is we are closer to Cavemen in Suits

My goal is to help people (especially leaders) make fewer dumb decisions. I do this by using science to challenge the common myths and irrational thoughts within our businesses. I want to challenge what we think we know, while laughing at what we don’t. I want to provoke discussions and stimulate self improvement. I do this mainly through our blog, but will be expanding soon into videos and some training and development tools.

3 Mental Hacks for LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS

Mental Hacks for LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS Delivering impactful training and development projects is incredibly tough. Unfortunately, most Learning & Development professionals ignore their biggest hurdle: their own mind. Research shows that humans are not as logical as we want to believe. Our brains are hard coded to fall victim to cognitive biases and mental... Continue Reading →

Stop Asking For Feedback – Lie #6

Stop Asking for Feedback!!! Gathering feedback could be incredibly simple, but too many companies complicate it through 360 surveys, competency / skill matrixes, and fancy reports. On top of that research has proven that traditional feedback questions are biased and unreliable. That doesn’t mean that gathering feedback from your colleagues is bad. In this month’s Caveman in a Suit article, I dig into the right way to ask for feedback. Spoiler Alert… the trick is to make the feedback more subjective.

Improve Your Team’s Performance by 3,000% (Nine Lies – Lie #5)

Improve Your Team's Performance by 3,000% (Nine Lies - Lie #5) One of my favorite research studies occurred in the 1920s-30s at the Hawthorne Electric facility in Illinois.  The researchers were investigating different methods to increase the productivity of the workers.  First they increased the brightness of the factory, and output went up.  Then they... Continue Reading →

4 Questions that Build Psychological Safety (Virtual Team Toolkit)

4 Questions that Build Psychological Safety Overview: Objective = Psychological Safety has been proven to be a key component of high performing teams. These 4 questions will help build psychological safety within your team members.Team Size = Any group size will workTime = 60 minsDifficulty = MediumMaterials Required = NoPreparation Required = YesTechnology Required =... Continue Reading →

Do You Overvalue Expertise?

At work, specialized experts are more valued than broad generalists, but is this a good thing? The average expert is a horrible predictor. 25% of the time they say something is impossible to happen, it nonetheless happens. Read more about how we overvalue expertise.

5 questions to ask before your next meeting

If your calendar looks like mine, there is just no time to sit in all your meetings and do all the work that is expected of you. Obviously one solution is just to say ‘No’ to more meetings, but having fewer meetings might not be possible for your situation. If you cannot say ‘No’ or delegate your meetings, then you can still save your precious time by improving the effectiveness of your meetings. And I’ve found that the best way to hold effective meetings is stop having ad hoc meetings, and instead prepare for your meetings by asking these 5 questions.

5 ways of dealing with conflict

In this article we will introduce the 5 conflict mindsets, and how you can use these mindsets to manage your conflicts in a more positive and professional manner. In the end, the goal of this article is for you to manage a conflict as painlessly as possible so that both parties are stronger, wiser, and able to move on.

How to Build Trust in all your relationships

A successful team is built off strong relationships, and there is no way you can succeed if your colleagues do not trust each other. Build your trust by how you relate to people (sensitive trust) and by having a proven track record (sensible trust). You can also improve your trust by pulling the different leavers of the trust equation. Without the trust of your team you will not succeed.

The right time to hold a strategic meetings is???

Your answers to these brainteasers might impacted by the time of day Meet Linda.  She’s a 31 year old, single, outspoken, and very bright.  In college, Linda majored in philosophy.  As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and participated in antinuclear demonstrations. Before I tell you more about… Continue Reading →

Misreading the Tea Leaves

Misreading the Tea Leaves: Editor’s Note – This article follows a simple format. The first section is about a fictional company Smart Kitchen and Cindy their CHRO. This story helps us present real-life situations where biased decision making occurs. After we introduce a concept through Cindy and her colleagues, we will present the science behind… Continue Reading →

Performance ratings – the best way to demotivate good performing employees?

Performance ratings: “What was your performance rating this year? Did you get a 3? Or a 4?” Ending the calendar year often signals time for performance appraisals and those of us who have been in a company that used individual performance ratings are familiar with these kinds of questions. Especially when the rating comes with… Continue Reading →

How to make smarter decisions?

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