Frank Sonnenberg Online

JANUARY 9, 2024

There’s a very fine line between staying silent to inhumanity, and being an active participant. Groupthink: What Makes You Think Others Know Better? Where were their parents? And where were all the people who knew full well what was happening? Is There a Difference Between Right and Wrong? Where Do Bullies Learn to Be So Mean?

Due Diligence 101

Due Diligence Groupthink Follow-up Comparison 101

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 11, 2015

As an executive coach and physician, I often sing the praises of mindfulness approaches and recommend them to clients to manage stress, avoid burnout, enhance leadership capacity, and steady their minds when in the midst of making important business decisions, career transitions, and personal life changes. The groupthink risk.

Stress 8

Stress Self-aware Groupthink Ethics 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 5, 2014

Early in my career, I was sympathetic to that analysis. Speaking up feels even more exposing and consequential, spontaneity more unfamiliar, when we’ve spent much of our careers learning to modulate our silence—and being rewarded for it. It is different from “groupthink.” Meet the Fastest Rising Executive in the Fortune 100.

Politics 12

Politics Groupthink Commitment Price 12

Harvard Business Review

MAY 19, 2017

You can get trapped in a version of groupthink, with a single set of shared relationships. You can’t just keep your head down and wait things out — you need to be intentional about protecting your reputation as well as your career trajectory. Protect your career options. Never oversell your clout.

Groupthink 13

Groupthink Video Learning-by-Doing Career 13

Harvard Business Review

JULY 4, 2014

Path dependence is why police officers do not switch occupations mid-career to become advertising executives, why Christians rarely convert to Judaism, and why group discussions often move inexorably to conclusions that do not represent the fullness of diverse perspectives that cognitive diversity offers. Structured deliberation is key.

Productivity 16

Productivity Products Brainstorming Diversity 16

Harvard Business Review

JULY 4, 2014

Path dependence is why police officers do not switch occupations mid-career to become advertising executives, why Christians rarely convert to Judaism, and why group discussions often move inexorably to conclusions that do not represent the fullness of diverse perspectives that cognitive diversity offers. Structured deliberation is key.

Productivity 11

Productivity Products Brainstorming Diversity 11