Data Aversion Disease

Some people are so convinced of things that no amount of data can influence their opinion. The presentation of data contrary to their current belief actually repels them and makes them become more firmly entrenched in their own position.

This is one of several Lean afflictions.

There is actually a true psychological term that this Lean affliction is related to. It is called confirmation bias. In a nutshell, people tend to accept data that supports their position, and reject data that weakens their beliefs.

How does this play out in Lean? The most common situation is when there is a new process in the works. Time studies are completed, and other data is collected. People who want the process to stay as is will reject any shorter times, generally with some explanation as to why the data was an outlier, or why it isn’t correct. They will, however, accept any data that shows the new process is inferior in some way.

As a facilitator, the best way around data aversion disease is to set the conditions before the data is collected. It doesn’t have to be overly structured, but it should be clear in advance what data will be used for decision making, and how that data will be used.