A ‘heuristic’ is a ‘rule of thumb’ that takes the place of conscious calculation in the interests of speed and reduction of cognitive load in our brain. Cognitive overload creates the ‘friction’ in our brains resulting in indecision and anxiety. Heuristics, or ‘mental models’ bring the cognitive load down to a level we can deal with efficiently.
It is a function of evolutionary psychology.
To survive, you had to make a choice quickly about that rustle in the grass. Ignore it too often and you could end up as tiger shit.
Remember, we are all survivors of those who ran in order to not take the chance with the rustle being a tiger.
We all use these mental models daily, usually unconsciously.
In 2009 Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger ‘landed’ the Airbus A320 he was piloting in the Hudson River after a flock of birds shut down both his engines on take-off from La Guardia airport.
He ‘knew’ without doing the calculations that he would not make it back to La Guardia, or the alternative airport of Teterboro in New Jersey.
His only option was the river, or a crash landing in populated areas of New York, and he had seconds to make the choice.
Subsequent investigations eventually confirmed his choice.
Sully applied unconsciously, a heuristic, a framework that was a result of his extensive flying experience, and knowledge of the gliding performance of the Airbus A320.
No data, no standard operating procedure that was useable, he acted and saved the life of every person on the plane as a result.
We all have a set of heuristics in our heads. The cumulative result of our experiences with life, and the context in which we have lived. We can either understand and leverage them to the advantage of ourselves and those around us, or we can fail to recognise their presence and power.
In your business, you are applying heuristics every day.
Choices that seem automatic: which customer to serve, who to hire, sales conversion, leadership choices, all are made with the assistance of heuristics. They are an essential and integral part of our management, but are only valuable when they are built from valid experience and regular testing and review.
You need to update your heuristics with regular feedback in the manner of an ‘after action review’ type analysis. What worked and what did not, where to lay the chips next time around, where to double down, and where to run.
When left untended, heuristics can evolve in suboptimal ways. Don’t leave yours untended, they may save you.
