“Hindsight Bias”
What is Hindsight Bias?
“I knew it all along!”
Hindsight bias occurs when people remember events as being more predictable than they really were.
Business Relevance
You created a proposal but made a minor error that the prospect catches and immediately dismisses your solicitation because they should’ve “went with their gut”.
Difficulty
When someone gets an idea that they should never have listened to you in the first place or that their suspicions are irrationally validated, it is extremely difficult to turn the situation positively.
Everyday Application
If an immediate logical conversation cannot be had because of an irrational hindsight bias, you must calmly and rationally accept their position and align yourself as just a mere human who makes mistake like anyone else.
“I have been doing this for XX years and after YY number of proposals, this has only happened once before. I hope you can appreciate that statistically this is bound to happen occassionally but now I’m in a position where I have a personal burning desire to prove to you that this error is the exception to our otherwise stellar reliability.”
