The Gorilla We Don’t See: Extraordinary Oversights in Everyday Life
Introduction
“The Invisible Gorilla” is a captivating study conducted by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons at Harvard University.
In this ground-breaking experiment, volunteers were asked to watch a 60-second film of students playing basketball.
This study highlights how people can miss seemingly obvious events when their attention is focused elsewhere. It challenges our assumptions about how well we perceive and remember our surroundings
Their task was to count the number of passes made during the game.
Astonishingly, about half of the viewer’s completely missed the gorilla!
This phenomenon, known as “inattentional blindness,” highlights how our minds can deceive us.
See this visual! When the man dressed in the gorilla suit casually strolled out to the bus station, newspaper in hand, he was stunned to realize his fellow commuters barely gave him a second glance. To his astonishment, a would-be co-passenger stood right next to him, completely oblivious to his outlandish appearance. The gorilla-suited man’s jaw dropped beneath his mask as he witnessed, first-hand, the baffling phenomenon of “inattentional blindness” in action.
How the findings of “The Invisible Gorilla” study can help the C-suite
The findings of “The Invisible Gorilla” study can indeed help C-suite executives address the issue of unintentionally overlooking obvious points.
B and team, as an external professional can play a crucial role in this context.
• Fresh perspective: An external professional firm like B acts as a “third eye” by bringing a fresh, unbiased perspective to the organization.
B is not immersed in the company’s day-to-day operations and culture, which allows them to spot things that insiders might miss due to familiarity or routine.
• B can provide an unbiased perspective, identifying blind spots that internal members might overlook.
• B’s detachment from the internal dynamics allows for a clearer view of the organization’s operations and potential issues.
• An external viewpoint from B can stimulate innovative thinking and challenge the status quo, encouraging more creative solutions to problems.
• B can facilitate workshops and brainstorming sessions that help teams see beyond their usual scope of focus.
• Challenging assumptions: B can question longstanding assumptions and practices that executives might take for granted. This helps combat the “illusion of attention” by forcing leaders to reconsider aspects of their business they might automatically overlook.
• Diverse experience: Team B has an experience across multiple organizations. This broad perspective can help identify blind spots specific to the company or industry that insiders might not recognize.
• Facilitating open discussions: As a neutral party, B can create a safe space for open discussions, encouraging team members at all levels to voice concerns or ideas that might otherwise go unheard. This helps combat the “illusion of knowledge” by bringing diverse perspectives to the forefront.
• B can provide an unbiased perspective, identifying blind spots that internal members might overlook.
• Regular assessments by B can ensure on-going vigilance and continuous improvement.
• Skill transfer: B not only identifies overlooked issues but also teach executives and their teams how to spot these issues themselves in the future. This can help build a culture of critical thinking and continuous improvement.
C-suite executives can significantly benefit from the lessons of “The Invisible Gorilla” study by being aware of the limitations of human attention and incorporating practices to counteract these limitations. Additionally, engaging external consultants can provide a valuable third eye, offering objective insights and expertise that help identify and address areas that might be unintentionally overlooked. This combined approach can enhance overall organizational effectiveness and decision-making quality.
By leveraging the strengths of B in this way, C-suite executives can significantly reduce the risk of overlooking critical information or opportunities. The external perspective serves as a valuable complement to internal expertise, helping to create a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the business landscape.