Monetization Playbook #75 —Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd

An 'Idea Meritocracy' is the new Corporate Democracy!

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.

—Voltaire [ 1694-1778 ]

Most organizations tend toward autocracy, some democracy, a few holocracy.

But is an 'idea meritocracy' the future of company building?

We are all living life, not knowing what the next moment will bring. To many, that adds a layer of excitement. To others, anxiety.

Given the extent of three-millennia of literature and learning, we should expect to be right on no more than one in ten occasions, mathematically speaking.

One in ten! Yes, even with classical schooling.

So why is it we never ask ourselves, what if I'm wrong?

I, for one, make decisions too quickly. I'm an optimist. Doing the extra work to prepare for the worst-case scenario is not innate to my DNA. 

But thanks to the efforts of Kahneman, I'm slowing down.

'Thinking Fast And Slow' is a life-changer. A tad dense, it reads like a who's who of psychological biases–most of which afflicted me.

I'm learning to acknowledge my doubts and not to assume anything to be certainties.

Some of the best arguments are now with myself!

Cognitive dissonance, no longer a foe but a welcome friend and ally.

So what has all this to do with business? 

Well, the best idea I recently heard was from someone so young, so inexperienced in that field that most grandees would dismiss it as absurd.

Invoking hierarchical bias mental model expressions such as– 'he has not served his time.' Or he's wet behind the ears–he doesn't understand the way things work.’ 

Sound familiar?

Just three score years ago, the average age of a large public company was 61 years.

Today it's 18!

Further, McKinsey research states that, in 2027, 75% of the companies currently quoted on the S&P 500 will have disappeared.

Thus the only way to survive and thrive is to become an idea meritocracy!