Prof. Jason MacGregor

The frustrating truth is despite their best efforts most entrepreneurs will fail within 5 years. Of those that manage to survive, the next challenge become finding a way to make lightning strike twice. Traditional thinking is that the second iteration of a business should focus on repeating the founder’s example and vision, with the main emphasis being to do it again. However, in today’s complex world where competitors could exist around the corner or around the world, any business that is not constantly innovating is at risk of perishing. At some point every entrepreneur runs out of ideas or just falls into a rut. When this happens, the entrepreneur needs a divergent voice to help reinvent the business.

In business, no one can do it alone. Complex decisions require teams with different expertise to come together. When the team optimally weights its expertise, they stand the best chance of reaching the correct decision. The greatest risk to optimal weighting is when a member’s perspective is not considered in the decision.

The many dangers of working exclusively with individuals who think alike are well documented. Group Think leads to a reduction in critical thinking. The members self-censor and do not share their concerns or ask questions. The logic is that if their concerns were valid someone else would have raised them.