Wrong thinking and bad conclusions

Reaching the end of a job interview, the human resources person asked a young engineer fresh out of MIT, “And what starting salary were you looking for?”

The engineer said, “In the neighborhood of $125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package.”

The interviewer said, “Well, what would you say to a package of  five weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50 percent of salary, and a company car leased every two years, say, a red Ferrari?”

The engineer sat up straight and said, “Wow! Are you kidding?”

And the interviewer replied, “Yeah, but you started it.”

For the longest time, many have been conditioned to think that graduating from an Ivy League institution affords the graduate a hefty salary, a corner office, and all the perks one can get in the job.

This observation applies not only to work and employment but to life in general. There are many principles of life that we cannot afford to ignore. Some people are good with what they do, yet they are so messed up as far as living is concerned. Why? They devise their conclusions, and then they suffer the consequences. Wrong conclusions come in the following form. Here is a list gathered from the web:

IGNORING THE ADVICE OF EXPERTS WITHOUT GOOD REASON:

Example: Sure, the experts say you shouldn’t ride a bicycle in the eye of a hurricane, but I have my theory.

FOLLOWING THE ADVICE OF KNOWN ODDBALL:

Example: Uncle Steve says eating pork makes you smarter. That’s good enough for me.

REACHING BIZARRE CONCLUSIONS WITHOUT ANY INFORMATION:

Example: My car won’t start. I’m sure rogue clowns have stolen the battery.

FAULTY PATTERN RECOGNITION:

Example: His last six wives were murdered mysteriously. I hope to be wife number seven.

FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE WHAT’S IMPORTANT:

Example: My house is on fire! Quick, call the post office and tell them to hold my mail!

CONCLUDING THAT THE SIMPLEST EXPLANATION MUST BE CORRECT:

Example: The simplest explanation for the moon landings is that they were hoaxes.

INABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THAT SOME THINGS HAVE MULTIPLE CAUSES:

Example: The Beatles were popular for one reason: they were good singers.

PROOF BY LACK OF EVIDENCE:

Example: I’ve never seen you drunk, so you must be one of those Amish people.

BLINDING FLASHES OF THE OBVIOUS:

Example: If everyone had more money, we could eliminate poverty.

BLAMING THE TOOL:

Example: I bought many books, but I’m still not intelligent.

TAKING THINGS TO THEIR ILLOGICAL CONCLUSION:

Example: If you let your barber cut your hair, the next thing you know, he’ll chop your limbs off.

JUDGING THE WHOLE BY ONE OF ITS CHARACTERISTICS:

Example: The sun causes sunburns. Therefore, the planet would be better off without the sun; Many people say that when we violate a law, we are breaking it. There’s another way of looking at this. I can jump out of a 22-story building, and as a result, I do not break the law of gravity… I confirm it!

Faulty deductions and faulty conclusions lead to wrong actions and wrong results. Today, you find much faulty thinking coming from all over the place. The only difference is that the olden days may have confined the crazy, dumb, or stupid thoughts to a local space, but now social media has spread them everywhere. And the untrained, unprepared, and undisciplined people accept them as the philosophy for work, life, and living.

Let me give you some examples:

ON HAPPINESS:

“If you are not happy with your job, quit! You do not deserve to be unhappy.”

ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE:

“If you cannot afford to quit your job, practice quiet quitting and just give the bare minimum.”

ON PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS:

“If I get a low score, my boss is judgmental and plays favorites.”

This faulty thinking that leads to flawed conclusions is one of the factors that cause young people quit their jobs. We need to equip our people with critical thinking skills and train them to develop their emotional intelligence. It is easier to react than to think. Helen Keller explains why: People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant. Thomas Huxley once said: “There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued.” The problem we have today is that so many people are so good with the way they argue, but the substance of their views may be flawed and can be accepted without critical thinking.

It’s about time we train our people to think and master their moods and emotions. Smart and learning organizations need people who have the ability to think and not just jump to conclusions – especially when they are the bad ones.

(Francis Kong’s podcast “Inspiring Excellence” is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or other podcast streaming platforms.)