Sherlock Holmes is the master of deduction. Take a keen observation of the world, combine it with a razor-sharp logical reasoning, and there is no mystery that can’t be solved.

Anchoring Bias occurs when we stick to the first belief or thought we hear on a subject, even when an abundance of evidence to the contrary is placed in front of us.   How many times have we seen business plans go awry, because we start chasing the first data we see and not the best data?  Ensuring our anchors are rooted in fact and not guesses helps us avoid an investigative bias. 

The partner to Anchoring Bias is Confirmation Bias. Once we have decided on a fact, there is a natural tendency to only observe evidence aligned with our facts. Evidence to the contrary is undervalued or ignored completely. Evidence in line with our thoughts is over-valued.

Decision-making as a leader requires the ability to observe these biases in action and work against them, especially within yourself! More companies suffer not because of poor decisions, but from the inability to step away from initial thoughts and ignoring evidence opposed to their plans of action.