Thread by @swardley

X : Do you think that bias caused by inertia is behind the lack of diversity in organisations?
Me : Whoa. You are mixing concepts really badly here. First there are multiple issues at play – inertia, bias and diversity. Let us take each one in turn ...

Inertia comes from pre-existing capital to a way of doing something. If an environment evolves then this capital can become a hurdle to change e.g. the sunk cost fallacy. There are about sixteen different forms of inertia that I’m aware of and tactics to deal with each.

Bias has all sorts of cultural, heritage and other origins. There are many forms and they interfere with our decision process. For example, outcome bias or authority bias and a belief that someone more senior is right. Education can combat this i.e. critical thinking.

Diversity, or more likely, lack of diversity is a major problem as it means we have limited our access to a broad range of ideas. From biological systems to organisations, a lack of diversity in options and thought is never a good idea.

That your executive might have bias, inertia and a lack of diversity is a fatal combination when it comes to coping with evolution and change. You must deal with all of these problems.