EMB
THINK AGAIN:
CONCEPTS TO REVOLUTIONIZE
People Decisions
BY RICHARD E. NISBETT
O
ver the past decade, emerging markets and the corporations that drive
them have experienced unprecedented evolution, the engines of growth
propelling companies beyond the frontiers of their national economies
and onto the global stage. But in all the talk of rising assets, influence and
ambition, a vital chapter in the growth story has been overlooked. Talking
recently to Egon Zehnder representatives in Riyadh, the vice-chairman and CEO
of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Mohamed Al-Mady, articulated
a problem that resonates across continents: “We neglected the issue of human
capital for a long time because we were achieving high growth.”
Heeding the vice-chairman’s words, SABIC and emerging powerhouses like it
have woken up to the importance of having the right people. But there is another
equally pressing issue that lies silently in the background: people decisions—not
just in hiring, but in developing and managing talent pools for the long-term.
Making the right decisions requires new perspective. Philosophical and scientific
thinking can revolutionize the way we solve problems, not just in theory, but in
business practice and life at large. Scores of concepts now exist which constitute
powerful tools for reasoning—tools that urge us to think more effectively about
our behavior and the world around us, enabling us to take decisive and effective
action as a result. But, in a world fraught with complex decisions the potent tools
for rational thinking remain largely unknown and underutilized.
I want to focus on six concepts that, if embraced and applied, can be used by
business leaders to make better decisions and nurture the talented workforces
of the future. Each one draws on examples that demonstrate how framing
common problems in a different way can make scientific and statistical principles
indispensable in addressing them. You may recognize all six in some shape
or form, but you will likely be surprised at the range of people-management
decisions they can help resolve.
EMBreview.org 71