Groupthink: An Impediment to Success

Groupthink, An Impediment to Success isn’t a book many will want to read, but is one nearly everyone should read. If you have to be part of any decision-making group or deal with such groups, you should read this book, and keep it on hand so that you’ll understand how group dynamics play out, and how they might affect you or the decisions the group will make. In fact, this book should be the sourcebook for a college-level course in group dynamics. Dr. Clifton Wilcox reduces literally hundreds of reports, books, articles, and studies to their essence.

Perhaps Wilcox explains Groupthink’s roots best: “Everyone makes decisions in their lives which result in consequences. For individuals the decision may be made implicitly and without consultation. For groups the decision is more complex. Some group members may want to pursue one course of action while others may not. Groupthink is one way in which individuals have the ability to avoid personal responsibility. If the group’s decision fails, the responsibility rests with all the members of the group and not a single individual. This diffusion of responsibility enhances emotional bonds between members as well as reduces the level of personal responsibility for decisions.” Groupthink explains with the well-known failure rate of groups, why they’re still used in nearly every level of modern society.

Ever wonder why committees never seem to get anything done? And, if they do, why what they achieve seems illogical and nonsensical? Groupthink explains it, in terms most can understand. Given a thorough understanding of how groups work, or rather fail to work, one might ponder how governments, universities, and businesses that are essentially many interlinked groups and committees manage to function at all. This and many more of life’s intricacies are explained in Groupthink, if you read, understand and ponder on it a bit.