Daily Inspiration: “Never underestimate the power of the denial that lies behind stupid decisions!”

“Never underestimate the power of the denial that lies behind stupid decisions!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

Denial is one of the most powerful sparks behind the engine of failure. And yet we see it all too often!

I still encounter many CEO’s and senior executives of global organizations who think that their business model will be intact well into the future; that their current success will drive their next wave of opportunity; that all they need to be doing tomorrow is what worked for them yesterday.

Sure. Right. Go for it, buddy! I think Kodak thought the world worked like that.

I wrote about this challenge – what I call CEO hubris – a few months back in a blog post, “What Does It Mean When Your CEO Says We Don’t Need to Do it Right Now?” Read the first line of the post: “It probably means you are in pretty big trouble!”

On a personal level, the power of denial can be pretty cunning. People might think they have an issue managed and well in hand, and then wham – shit happens!

And with that, one bad decision can lead to a path of failure.

If you have a goal, you need to be relentless with your focus on it. You need to be on guard, wary, cautious, observant, and watchful for anything that might detract you from your goal. You can never begin to let denial interfere with your effort. Denial is the engine for failure.