I know of no better way to guard against imposing one's framework on a situation than to discuss one's perceptions with to two or three people with differing backgrounds with little stake in the outcome.

The issue of internal biases was one of the items that has been expended in the latest COSO document. I suggest readers to look at this in terms of risk management.

Herr Doctor Bulc,
I gave seminars at P&G where I taught about coping with 'Blind Spots" in our knowledge. I believe this relates to your quote from Goethe. I can't post the matrix here, but I will speak to the four key knowledge areas.

1. We know what we know--This is our core competency. We have honed this through education and experience.
2. We know what we don't know--This is where the question at hand is outside our field of knowledge or experience.
3. We don't know what we know-- This is forgotten knowledge from our training or experience. In a corporation this may be knowledge lost when employees leave.
4. We don't know what we don't know--This is our BLIND SPOT.. We must involve others in reviewing our decisions and hypothesis to insure we don't blindly forge ahead without the knowledge needed for an informed decision. .

I believe #4 is where engaging relevant managers and peers is essential to bring in the relevant information needed that you may be unaware of.
kind regards,
John Molander, PE.

I was venting some frustration when you do what you are supposed to do, when you solicit opinions of several top managers plus outside consultants and yet the person in charge does not listen. I know that because of unwillingness to change the likelihood of failing is skyrocketing and still there is no change. Unfortunately I have seen this suicidal behavior of top managers/owners just too many times.

Hi Ales,
thanks for providing the context to your question. In this case I think rather than Goethe, you should seek out Freud and the behavior of his Ego. .
Managers at the top have often excelled by relying on their intuition, and no volume of rationale is likely to change this.

I might suggest that you change tactics and seek out a person who this leader trusts. Lay out your scenarios of the disaster that will happen if the leader continues on their path and seek the friend's help in sharing the concerns with the leader.

cheers,
John

The situation I have described is not a unique one. I have seen this too many times in my carrier. Top managers refuse to see regardless of the advice. In R&D with disruptive changes this is even more prevailing. For this reason I am searching for a way to deal with the problem. As people do not embrace change valuable resources are lost and sometimes an opportunity to introduce new process/technology/product.

Does anybody remember the time when lasers were first created and people immediately said "it is a solution looking for a problem"? Or when AI became the solution buzzword in search of a problem?

I would add to your list this thought. Consider looking for problems that can be readily solved by what we already know and can apply. Every company has solutions that for one reason or another have not yet been matched to a problem where it can have a significant impact on the outcome of the pairing, Lasers are still solving problems and creating opportunities, So to is AI in all its potential glory. Technology is almost always capable of solving multifaceted problems if you look at it from multiple perspectives.