The Abilene Paradox

Years ago, I used to go to business lectures at George Washington University, just for the heck of it, and we heard this speaker give a great talk.

A family is hungry, so someone says: Let's drive to Abilene and eat. Another person suggests a restaurant that he hates, because he thinks the others want to go there (but he's wrong) so the others go along with the group think because they all think: Well, I hate that restaurant, but I will go along with the other folks so as not to be the troublemaker.

A similar scenerio is people marrying because all the marriage plans have been made, because no one has the courage to say: Hey wait a second, this is a mistake.

Of course, I am a naysayer by habit, always finding what's wrong with the proposal, and the result is that I become the scapegoat for not getting along with the team...but that's another story altogether.

HeadsupAceOfSpades, who discusses how it applies to politics