Changing Beliefs, Understanding Personalities and Nestle
Three essays that stood out for me:
‘Humans are programmed to think we’re right at all costs. Fighting that instinct will set you free,’ claims this story which came in The Atlantic some months ago. At the centre of this piece is an old experiment carried out by Henry Murray, which asked a bunch of students about their personal philosophy only to tear it apart. While many were left with a bad taste from the study, a few really enjoyed the process of being challenged ‘because they were forced to rethink their beliefs’. According to this essay by Arthur Brooks, rethinking your beliefs when challenged or in face of conflicting evidence can make us more successful, less anxious and happier. We are inherently biased to support our own beliefs and that often make it difficult to change our minds. However, this could be counterproductive in the long run. ‘If your goal is to find the truth, admitting you are wrong and changing your beliefs based on new facts makes you better off in the end,’ writes Brooks. So how do we do that? By being open to admitting you could be wrong and by welcoming contradiction. Make friends who think differently than you. Interestingly, Brooks suggests not to document our beliefs. In a connected world, it has become much easier to broadcast our views but that also makes it difficult to change it afterwards, for the ‘evidence’ is out there.
This essay in The Economist chalks out the age-old debate on different personality types. While one academic study indicates that extroverts are more likely to have higher paying jobs (the essay acknowledges that this causation is not clear — is it possible that as you climb the ladder, you become more outspoken?), yet another study claims that ‘introverts were slightly more likely than extroverts to surpass the expectations of boards and investors when appointed as chief executives’. The essay reiterates the importance of understanding of the different personality types a modern manager may have in his team. A manager needs to balance these personalities by creating safe spaces for everyone to contribute, for example, by inviting introverts’ views on specific questions. No easy answer to what the right strategy would be but being mindful of these personality types makes for a good start. I did that with my team right at the start and it has turned out to be a truly useful investment.
You might have already seen the controversy surrounding Nestle’s leaked strategy document that approximately 60% of their current portfolio does not meet a “recognised definition of health” and that some of their categories and products “will never be ‘healthy”. If not, here is a short primer. Well, some may cringe at this finding and shun Nestle, I believe that this assessment is perhaps a first step in admitting the shortcomings of their current portfolio. How many consumer food companies would do so, I wonder. With global concerns on obesity and healthier eating rising, more and more companies need to assess their current strategy and portfolio fit in an unbiased manner and that’s what Nestle seems to be doing. If anything, we should welcome such steps.
A quote that I came across recently:
“Devil has always been cheap dopamine”
— Matt Walker (in a podcast)
