Why your strategy needs bias
Let's talk about the b word. No, not that one. "Bias". Alain de Botton says:
"Although certain grating right- and left-wing varieties dominate our understanding of the term bias, there are ultimately as many biases as there are visions of life."
Over the years, bias got a bad rep. But this is misleading. The problem isn't that we have bias. It's what we don't know when we have it.
But what if we flipped it? What if we recognised bias will always be there? And what if we turned that into an advantage?
Under the above idea, bias is all about having a vision. We all have a specific vision of life. So if we have a vision, we have bias by design.
By that logic, strategy has to be inherently biased. Because it is about choosing a vision. And then committing to it.
Doing research matters. Reflecting reality as best we can matters. But our job isn't to report things. It's to help decide what happens next.
And that decision has to be inherently biased. Because it exists to focus our attention on something specific. So don't worry too much if you feel your work is biased. In some sense, it has to be for it to cut through.
No bias means you're reporting on reality without offering a point of view. But strategy is a point of view. So own your biases. Be conscious that you have them.
Not happy with them? Find better biases.
