Five cognitive biases and how to work around them
Do not open the review with the market-share number everyone disputes. Start with what you agree on.
Confirmation bias (funding a channel for reach despite poor ROI): pick one specific campaign and ask what to improve rather than attacking the approach. Anchoring (a 60,000 crossed out to 30,000): avoid leading with a controversial figure; start from agreed facts. Hindsight ('I knew it' about stocks or hires): record decisions and reasons, keep the alternatives. Halo (a referred candidate, a top salesperson assumed a good leader): objective criteria, unrelated reviewers. Availability (one customer interview drives a redesign): avoid impulse, use overall statistics, seek other views.
The reasons a correct analysis still loses the room.