The below text is the introduction to the first part of my book “Philosophy for Business Leaders: Asking Questions, Navigating Uncertainty, and the Quest for Meaning.”
The first part is titled: The Art of Examining Yourself and Questioning Your Assumption.
If you enjoyed reading the intro, you can get your copy at the following link.
“Great negotiators are able to question the assumptions that the rest of the involved players accept on faith or in arrogance, and thus remain more emotionally open to all possibilities, and more intellectually agile to a fluid situation.” — Chris Voss
Part One: Introduction
Shifting Paradigms
In the mid-19th century, when Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis of Hungary proposed that handwashing could significantly reduce mortality rates among newborns at Vienna General Hospital, he was met with unexpected resistance and skepticism from his peers.
Until that time, the dominant medical theory believed that diseases came from ‘bad air’ or harmful smells from decaying organic material, attributing infections and fatalities to exposure to such tainted atmospheres; the germ theory had not yet been introduced.
Dr. Semmelweis grappled with this problem due to the high mortality rates from childbed fever in one of the hospital’s maternity wards.
What he noticed was a bit astounding. The maternity ward with a high mortality rate was staffed with medical doctors and students who went straight to the ward from the dissection rooms, where they conducted autopsies without washing their hands.
The other ward, which had significantly lower mortality rates, was staffed with midwives who had no prior contact with cadavers.
Dr. Semmelweis hypothesized that particles from the corpses might be transferred to the babies, leading to fatal fevers. This problem, he suggested, could likely be solved with handwashing.
To test his theory, he required that medical students and doctors wash their hands with a chlorine solution before attending to births. The results were astonishing. Mortality rates plummeted to ones similar to the other ward staffed by midwives.
You’d probably think that this newly discovered evidence would have convinced the doctors and medical students to adopt a handwashing protocol before attending to births. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Dr. Semmelweis was met with resistance from the medical community who believed that the miasma theory (contamination through bad air and smells) was true. They also felt insulted by the suggestion that they could be unintentionally causing their patients’ deaths.
Dr. Semmelweis felt alienated, and tensions with his colleagues escalated, deepening his sense of frustration. He was eventually admitted to a mental asylum where he ironically died of a septicemia infection.
Years later, his theory would be vindicated by the germs theory proposed by the likes of Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister. Dr. Semmelweis, an early advocate of handwashing hygiene, is recognized today for his pioneering work in antiseptic procedures.
I chose to begin this part with Dr. Semmelweis’ story for several reasons:
First, it underscores the significance of challenging our deeply-held beliefs and our current understanding of the world, even when we consider ourselves authorities in our domain.
Second, the narrative illustrates the often staunch resistance that emerges when established beliefs and assumptions are questioned, even by professionals.
Third, the story paints a vivid picture of the uphill battle involved in altering a worldview we’ve grown comfortable with, especially when presented with conflicting evidence. This is not a special case, unfortunately.
History shows that new paradigms, scientific, social, or economic are not easily and directly adopted. It is rife with many such incidents where, sometimes even against the evidence, people fought hard to maintain the status quo. Within a scientific context, you can check out Thomas Kuhn’s book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” for more information on the topic.
Fourth, being an authority on a subject doesn’t exempt one from introspection; it’s vital to continually assess our assumptions.
Lastly, our interpretation of the world, regardless of our expertise, might be heavily influenced by inherent biases that require consistent monitoring and adjustment.
The essential lesson from Dr. Semmelweis’ experience is the critical need for a self-reflective approach both individually and collectively, which means periodically revisiting and scrutinizing our decisions, strategies, and assumptions.
Without it, we risk complacency, potentially overlooking chances for personal and professional development by relying too heavily on what we think we know, without occasionally re-evaluating our foundational beliefs or the paradigms we’ve come to accept without question.
In the following discussion, I will explore the significance of challenging our assumptions and how it applies to both our personal and professional realms. As a business leader, similar to an orchestra conductor, or sports team coach, your role involves ensuring the synchronized performance of your company or team. Your responsibilities encompass various aspects such as employee proficiency, client satisfaction, effective internal and external communication, brand consistency, product quality, and achievement of quarterly targets. This can be quite overwhelming.
Between Impostor Syndrome and Self-Assurance
Through my research and interviews with business leaders, a prevailing sense of isolation became apparent. Business leaders often experience mounting pressure to prove their competence and expertise. Implicitly, there’s an assumption that they should have all the answers, lest they risk being perceived as inadequate and potentially losing their positions.
In his book “The Hard Thing About Hard Things,” venture capitalist Ben Horowitz draws from his CEO experience to underscore a similar sentiment. He presumed other CEOs were confident and certain about their decisions, given their public demeanor. His personal experience was quite the opposite. While he possessed technical knowledge, he was often uncertain about the choices he made as a CEO. He hadn’t been trained for this role.
Only later did he realize that many of his seemingly knowledgeable friends also struggled when their companies faced challenges. Impostor syndrome is a genuine phenomenon. It appears that regardless of one’s experience, an internal struggle may persist, perpetuating the fear of being exposed.
What triggers this phenomenon? A combination of individual and collective assumptions that we should inherently possess all the answers. This association of knowledge with certainty hampers our willingness to explore things further, beyond our current understanding, potentially leading to stagnation.
If impostor syndrome represents one side of the spectrum, the other extreme can be equally concerning. Much like the CEOs Horowitz mentions, it’s problematic to be excessively confident in one’s abilities, skills, and knowledge. The situation can become significantly worse when individuals truly believe their expertise is unmatched. It only takes a minor inconvenience for others to realize that their abilities do not align with the high level of confidence they hold in their knowledge and expertise.
The ever-changing sphere of new theories, technologies, and products often goes unnoticed if we fail to critically evaluate our knowledge, beliefs, and assumptions. Consequently, we inadvertently reinforce the notion that expertise should equate to infallible understanding, subjecting us to undue stress and varying degrees of impostor syndrome on the one hand, or self-assurance on the other. What might be one remedy to this rampant problem?
A Philosophical Mindset
Adopting a philosophical mindset can help overcome these challenges by avoiding the trap of extreme self-assurance and overconfidence in what we believe we know. On the other side, it fosters comfort with vulnerability, enabling us to identify our strengths and weaknesses and engage in constructive dialogues that encourage us to question our assumptions, inviting others to do the same. This approach proves particularly valuable during collaborative problem-solving, facilitating the negotiation of solutions while acknowledging the uncertainties with which we all contend.
This part will consist of four chapters, each shedding light on crucial aspects of personal and professional growth. I will be drawing on examples from classical literature, pop culture, and real-life instances gathered from the interviews I’ve conducted, as well as narratives I’ve encountered in books and articles.
First, we’ll dive into the world of questioning assumptions, drawing inspiration from Socrates and his timeless wisdom. Then, we delve into the art of inquiry, employing the Socratic framework to enhance our critical thinking skills. Next, we’ll explore the importance of the trickster mindset in challenging our assumptions and fostering creativity. Last but not least, we’ll venture into the realm of changing perspectives and engaging dialogues, drawing inspiration from Plato’s “Symposium” and insights from authors like Roger L. Martin.
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