Red Pill or Blue Pill?

The red pill and blue pill is a popular meme representing a choice between taking a “red pill”, that reveals the unpleasant knowledge and the cruel truths of everyday life, and taking a “blue pill” to remain in ignorance. The terms are directly derived from a scene in the 1999 film The Matrix.

So which would you rather take?

They do say ignorance is bliss… but it’s not, is it? Not really.

However, in business, we often see the preference for the “blue pill”, with a fear of embracing hard truths, and an unwillingness to confront comfortable lies.

At Red Team Thinking, we believe it is the lies we tell ourselves that truly hold us back.

It is often not the inability to find out the truth, but the actual fear of knowing. Realising that, by knowing the truth, means you then have to face that complex problem and do something about it. Surely, it is simply much easier to just ignore it and kick the can down the road. Maybe it will go away. Maybe it won’t…

History shows us that many companies have collapsed through ostrich-like behaviour, refusing to acknowledge the volatile and complex world in which we now live, and face into the challenges it brings. Many are affected by longevity bias, the belief that the “way we’ve always done it” is the best way. Or normalcy bias, which leads people to disbelieve or minimise threat warnings and, consequently, underestimate the likelihood of a disaster. Normalcy bias is also referred to as analysis paralysis, or the ostrich effect. About 70% of people reportedly display normalcy bias during a disaster. This bias has had a major impact on behaviours and actions during the pandemic crisis.

Every company knows that the iceberg with their name on it is out there, but if you don’t accept that fact, plan for it and learn how to adapt, then your survivability rates go down.

Those who choose ignorance rarely fare well.

Still want that blue pill?

In the book The Art of the Start, author Guy Kawasaki uses the red pill as an analogue to the situation of leaders of new organisations, in that they face the same choice to either live in reality or fantasy. He adds that if they want to be successful, they have to take the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

The key for leaders in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, is to realise that the situation now faced is something an individual can no longer deal with alone, not even a capable board of C-suite has the ability. The problems businesses face today and forever more going forward, are now so complex that there is rarely one right answer. So the ability to be proactive, confront your fears, ask the hard questions, and be deliberately disruptive is crucial. And remember, you can’t do this alone, so you need to source the wisdom of the crowd, that means you need to enable your people to do the same. Enable critical thinking across your organisation, then demand to be challenged. Doing this as a first step will amplify your chances of success.

“A problem shared is a problem halved”. My awesome Grandma taught me that from an early age, encouraging me to be open and talk to her and my parents about things bothering me. The same advice can be applied to executives facing these complex problems. You are no longer expected to have all the answers, in fact it’s absolutely ok not to. But you are expected to use the amazing people you employ to the best effect. Empowering and enabling your people will bring incredible results. Show humility, involve them, ask for their help, then sit back and watch them go to work.

Top Tip: Don’t outsource your thinking to a big consultancy. The answers you need lie within.

What was it Steve Jobs said:

It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

Those who elect not to do this and continue in autocratic mode, driving ‘their plan’, are simply deluding themselves. Whereas those who see the truth, tell the truth and act on the truth invariably have the ability to adapt, survive and, ultimately, thrive.

But sometimes, you don’t know what you don’t know.

And that’s ok.

And that’s why you have a choice.

There is a way of knowing what you don’t know. Seeing what you can’t see. Making unknown-unknowns known. And there’s a reason you don’t know.

And there’s a reason we’re called Red Team Thinking. We are the red pill.

Now, where’s that iceberg?

It’s time to reclaim the role of thinker.

Critical thinkers are the new superheroes. Be one.

Are you ready to truly understand applied critical thinking and make a difference? Join us at https://www.redteamthinking.com/store