Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
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- Author: Shane Parrish
- Language: English
- Genre: Cognitive Psychology
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THE ENEMIES OF CLEAR
THINKING
Never forget that your unconscious is smarter than you,
faster than you, and more powerful than you. It may even
control you. You will never know all of its secrets.
—CORDELIA FINE, A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain
Distorts and Deceives
THE FIRST THING I heard was shouting. Generally, this is not what you expect to hear
when approaching the CEO’s office. This CEO was different.
I walked into his office, put my briefcase on the table, and sat down directly
across from him. He didn’t acknowledge my presence. While months of working for
him had led me to expect as much, it was still unsettling.
I was his designated right hand, and almost nothing and no one got to him
without going through me first. That’s what made this call so interesting. It wasn’t
on his calendar.
Whomever he was talking with, the conversation had turned him red with rage. I
had already learned the hard way not to interrupt him during moments like this with
a nudge to take a breath. If I did, his wrath would quickly direct itself at me.
As he hung up, his eyes met mine. I knew I had a split second to say
something, or he’d start yelling at me for having to take this unscheduled call.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“They needed to be put in their place,” he said.
I didn’t know who had been on the other end of the phone, but the pitch of his
anger led me to believe it was someone unfamiliar with him. The people who
worked for this CEO knew it was easier not to tell him anything that might upset
him. This included bad news, ideas that clashed with his beliefs, and of course a
nudge to stop when he was making a situation worse.
It would be one of the last calls he ever took in his office. This ordinary moment
changed everything.
It turned out, the person on the other end of that phone call was desperately
trying to report a problem with serious consequences for the organization. When
their concern was met with wrath that day, they decided to take their concerns to
the board. Not long afterward, the CEO was fired.
While part of me wants to tell you it was directly because of his behavior, we
both know that wouldn’t be true. He was fired for not acting on the very information
the person on the other end of the phone was trying to tell him, because his ego
wouldn’t allow for it. If he had been thinking clearly, he might still have his job.[*]*
⦁
CHAPTER 1.1
Thinking Badly—or Not Thinking at
All?
RATIONALITY IS WASTED IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN TO USE IT.
.When you ask people about improving thinking, they typically point
toward numerous tools designed to help people think more rationally.
Bookstores are full of books that assume the problem is our ability to
reason. They list the steps we should take and the tools we should use to
exercise better judgment. If you know you should be thinking, these can be
helpful.
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