Denial: Why Business Leaders Fail to Look Facts in the Face---and What to Do About It Review

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Denial: Why Business Leaders Fail to Look Facts in the Face---and What to Do About It ReviewRichard Tedlow rises up to the challenge of dealing with the attractiveness of denial in the business world and how to successfully overcome it. As Mr. Tedlow puts it, denial consists of ignoring the obvious because there is no will to confront it. Denial has an irrefutable appeal because it can be rewarding in the short term. In contrast, denial rarely works in the long term in the business world (pp. 2-3). Resisting denial is not an all-or-nothing proposition that can be dealt with thoroughly once and for all with success. Denial-avoidance is a life's work for all individuals and organizations (pp. 204-206).
In the first part of his book, Mr. Tedlow convincingly demonstrates that companies that were once (very) successful can fall prey to denial, sometimes resulting in their loss of market supremacy. Think for example about the substitution of General Motors to Ford Motor Company in pole position in the 1920s, or the disastrous formula change of "Classic" Coke to better deal with the Pepsi Challenge in the 1980s. In the second part of his study of denial, Mr. Tedlow shows that after first agonizing over the necessity to change their modus operandi and/or business model, some companies such as DuPont and Intel made the necessary decisions to overcome a major crisis, at what Intel CEO Andy Grove calls a strategic inflection point in their existence (p. 58).
To avoid the fate of those who succumb to denial in the business world, Mr. Tedlow concludes his examination of denial with the following action plan:
1. There is no time to waste in dealing with denial. Tackling denial at a time of a crisis will often be too late.
2. Avoiding denial by unflinchingly facing facts is the alternative to ignoring, dismissing, rationalizing, or twisting these facts in the vain hope to make them less brutal than they really are.
3. Cultivating "Cassandras" (most often middle managers) instead of yes-men is in the best interest of the leadership. Unfortunately, this antidote to groupthink is rarely practiced, despite its "near-universal" praise.
4. The top management has to clearly signal that it is both able and willing to listen to what is not the party line and most flattering to them. Cassandras will eventually leave organizations that silence them. Furthermore, firing the messenger because the truth is not welcome within an organization will exact its price sooner or later.
5. Facing denial with success requires a long-term perspective. As the author rightly puts it, the current economic downturn is the textbook illustration of how denial goes hand in hand with short-term thinking.
6. Watching one's vocabulary is a reflection of one's power to resist denial. For example, trash-talking the competition without merit, or using politically correct language to avoid calling a spade a spade, mirror self-delusion.
7. Telling the unvarnished truth can do what the "experts" think is impossible to accomplish. The comeback of Tylenol from the abyss shows the power of what Mr. Tedlow calls "data-driven emotional intelligence." This lesson will give pause to more than one lawyer or PR person in charge of crisis management.
8. Finally, the people who prove the best at resisting denial are unconventional thinkers who need to be cultivated instead of being ignored at the peril of their organizations (pp. 205-216).
As a side note, a comparable study of the corrosive influence of denial on local, state, and federal authorities and how to overcome it would be a welcome addition to Mr. Tedlow's worthy contribution to this subject.
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