16 Cognitive Bias Traps Small Business Owners Fall Into And How to Avoid Them
Even if you consider yourself first-rate in your field and a master at making logical decisions you still need mental shortcuts to function efficiently and effectively. Limits in time, information, and memory means your brain has to perform a huge number of mental tricks. Since the average person makes 35,000 decisions daily, these time savers are essential to cutting through the noise and getting things done. However, they don’t always help us reach our fullest potential. If you’re running your own small business, you may want to double check that every gut feeling makes sense and will benefit your company for the long term.
Cognitive biases are patterns of thinking that don’t rely on logic. Because they allow your mind to get around gaps in knowledge and memory, you need them to bypass things like extreme pressure, time constraints, emotions, and overwhelming information.
However, because cognitive biases are based on generalizations and assumptions, they can’t always be correct. And if you don’t check your reasoning, they can lead to judgments and decisions that negatively impact your business. You can’t eliminate them all, but you can become more aware of how they function and ways to counteract them.
Check out our infographic below to learn more about the different kinds of cognitive bias traps small business owners fall into and how to avoid them:
Sources: GeekWrapped | Richardhughesjones.com | Entrepreneur | GetVoip | BusinessInsider | Wikipedia | Medium | PsychologyToday | WesleyanCollege | Journal of Judgement and Decision Making | Inc | Forbes | WashingtonPost | USAToday | Forbes
Meredith Wood
Editor-in-Chief at Fundera
Meredith is Editor-in-Chief at Fundera. Specializing in financial advice for small business owners, Meredith is a current and past contributor to Yahoo!, Amex OPEN Forum, Fox Business, SCORE, AllBusiness and more.
Source of the post : https://www.fundera.com/blog/cognitive-bias-traps-for-small-business-owners