Falling in love with our own ideas
One of the main reasons why startup founders and entrepreneurs need experienced advisers is because we tend to fall in love with our own ideas. In fact, every business owner, senior manager, and even politicians do. I say “we” because we are all the same – I have advisers for my advisory business as well, not to mention for my startups.
As an adviser, I may shake you a little, shatter some of your ideas, and may even annoy you – because when one sees things from the side, and when one is experienced, a lot of pain and money can be saved with good advice.
Personally, I believe in solving problems, not just exposing them, and I take a “hands-on” approach – if your tech team can’t do it fast enough or well enough, I will do it myself.
It’s a fascinating aspect of human nature that we often become deeply attached to our own ideas. This phenomenon stems from the psychological principle known as the “endowment effect,” where individuals tend to place a higher value on things they own or ideas they generate. When we come up with an idea, we invest our time, energy, and creativity into its development, which can lead to a sense of ownership and emotional attachment. Additionally, our brains are wired to seek confirmation and validation of our beliefs and opinions, leading us to selectively perceive information that supports our ideas while disregarding contradictory evidence. This cognitive bias, known as “confirmation bias,” further reinforces our attachment to our own ideas. As a result, even when presented with alternative perspectives or evidence, we may resist changing our minds and cling stubbornly to our initial notions. Recognising and overcoming this tendency is crucial for entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking to make objective decisions and adapt to changing circumstances.
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Eran Ben-Shahar is a Sydney based experienced IT/AI Startups CTO, Solution Architect and Team Leaders. Except several successful businesses I served 7 years for NEw Zealand Transport Agency as a senior enterprise application specialists and 2 years at New Zealand Parliament as a senior Business Analyst. I currently look for an interesting hybrid role.
