Repeating the Same Thing Expecting Different Results PART 1: Why We Fail to See It in Ourselves
Most of us can easily recite the famous warning often attributed to Einstein: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” is the definition of insanity. In the automotive retail industry (and many others), this adage is practically folklore. Leaders and employees know it by heart – yet, when it comes to their own strategies and routines, they often fail to recognize this very pattern in themselves or their organizations. Why is it so easy to preach this idea, but so hard to practice it?
In this article, we’ll explore the psychological and organizational reasons behind this blind spot. We’ll also look at real examples (from Nokia to everyday business habits) that show how repeating the same approach can lead to stagnation. Finally, we’ll offer some simple steps to help break out of this cycle, so your dealership or business can avoid the “insanity” of unmet expectations.
The Psychological Blind Spot: Why We Don’t See Our Own Repetition
On an individual level, failing to see that we’re “doing the same thing expecting a different outcome” comes down to how our brains are wired. Several psychological factors create a blind spot that makes self-diagnosis difficult:
- Bias Blind Spot and Introspection Illusion: Humans have a tendency to see others’ mistakes clearly while overlooking our own. We assume we are less biased than others, a phenomenon psychologists call the bias blind spot. One reason is the introspection illusion – we judge ourselves by our intentions and thoughts, but judge others by their actions. In practice, this means you might rationalize your own repeated actions (“I had a good reason each time”) while viewing someone else’s repetitive behavior as obviously flawed. This self-serving bias makes it hard to realize when we are stuck in a loop.
- Habit and Comfort in the Familiar: Our brains love consistency and certainty. Once we learn a certain approach or get accustomed to a routine, changing it is mentally challenging. It’s simply easier to keep doing what we’ve always done – often on autopilot – especially if those actions were modeled by our mentors or “how we’ve always done it” in the company. This cognitive inertia means we can repeat ineffective patterns without consciously evaluating them, because doing something new would require unlearning and discomfort. In short, we stick to the comfortable path even when it’s not working.
- Cognitive Dissonance and Self-Justification: Admitting that our past decisions or strategies were wrong is painful. Psychologically, we experience cognitive dissonance when confronted with evidence that our chosen approach is failing – it clashes with our belief in our own competence. To reduce this discomfort, we often double down and justify our prior choices, convincing ourselves that success is just around the corner if we stay the course. As one expert put it, “the brain is designed with blind spots… one of its cleverest tricks is to confer on its owner the comforting delusion” of being right – so we unwittingly blind ourselves to information that would make us question our behavior. This mindset leads to escalation of commitment: we remain committed to a course of action even when evidence shows it isn’t working, rather than admit a mistake. In business, this is known as throwing good money after bad – continuing to invest in the same failing strategy while hoping for a turnaround. Our egos prefer staying consistent over the vulnerability of changing course.
- “Status Quo” Bias – Inertia in Decision Making: Psychological research shows that people have a built-in bias for the status quo – we prefer things to stay the same (or choose the familiar option) unless there’s a compelling reason to change. In fact, researchers describe a decision inertia where individuals tend to repeat previous choices regardless of the outcome. This means even if last quarter’s tactic didn’t yield results, our default is often to try the same tactic again (perhaps with minor tweaks) rather than switch to a completely new strategy. Why? One study finds this inertia is strongly linked to a “preference for consistency” – a desire to appear and feel consistent in our actions and beliefs. We like to think we’re reliable and steady, so we subconsciously resist drastic changes. Unfortunately, this can give rise to perseveration in suboptimal choices – a fancy way of saying we keep doing the wrong thing over and over.
- Ignoring Negative Feedback: Even when reality tries to send us a message (through poor results or failures), we often tune it out. Psychologically, people are hard-wired to avoid negative information, as shown in experiments by researchers at Chicago Booth. Hearing about our mistakes hurts our self-image, so we tend to dismiss or downplay negative feedback. For example, in one study a significant number of people chose to not find out why they failed a task, preferring to look at information about successes instead. In organizational life, this translates to reluctance in analyzing failures – skipping post-mortems, or as an individual, explaining away a bad outcome (“The market was just slow,” “It was a one-off problem”) instead of learning from it. By shutting out the negative, we lose the chance to course-correct, essentially ensuring the same mistakes will be repeated. As Ayelet Fishbach (professor of behavioral science) bluntly writes: “Even when it’s fairly obvious that negative information is best, we’re hard-wired to avoid it. Our brains simply shut out the negative information.” This bias keeps us stuck on the same track, expecting things to improve even if we don’t change anything.
In short, our minds comfort us with the illusion of sanity in our own repetitive behavior – even as we readily label others “insane” for the same habit. We memorize the quote, but fail to internalize it. The combination of bias blind spots, comfort with routine, fear of being wrong, and selective hearing of feedback creates a perfect storm: we keep doing X expecting Y, and genuinely believe that’s reasonable.
This is part ONE of THREE parts, dropping this week. Make sure you get notified - Subscribe to get notified!
