On this week’s episode of The Debrief, MT’s editorial team discusses what can be done to boost business optimism and how groupthink can sabotage your transformation agenda.

If the first quarter’s GDP figures briefly put a spring in Rachel Reeves’ step, this boost would have been short-lived, while we can only assume she had regained the standard-issue world-weary tread of a put-upon chancellor by the time the ONS’s latest monthly estimate rolled around. The 0.7% increase in GDP that raised spirits early in the year gave way to projections of virtually flat growth in the second quarter, while the most recent data for May showed a surprise – if small – contraction of 0.1% (let’s not even mention the latest inflation figures). But Downing Street aren’t the only ones feeling under siege. With sentiment among businesses faring scarcely better, we asked our community of CEOs what’s needed to boost optimism.

It’s common to strive towards consensus, but at what point do organisations become echo chambers, where new ideas quickly lose steam under the collective weight of conformity - if they ever even see the light of day? And as businesses face the need to rapidly evolve to meet new realities, what implications does it have for transformations if teams are governed by common assumptions, shared notions of ‘best practice’ and attachment to what’s come before? Data Impact author Ritavan’s own view is clear: groupthink is the “silent killer of transformation”. We discuss his argument.

Credits:

Presenters: Antonia Garrett Peel and Éilis Cronin

Producer: Inga Marsden

Artwork: David Robinson

Links:

https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/mt-asks-against-backdrop-economic-headwinds-boost-business-optimism/opinion-and-analysis/article/1925050

https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/groupthink-enemy-transformation/opinion-and-analysis/article/1924413

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