The problem with being 'right'
We all hold biases.
These biases are based on many factors – our upbringing, preferences, religion, family, culture, language, country, interests, beliefs. A lot of these biases are subconscious. And many are unavoidable. It is just part of being human. We are all flawed in one way or another.
The $600,000 tip
When Robert Cialdini published the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, it opened up the varied ways that we can influence others by tapping into their biases.
This book was so eye-opening that Charlie Munger gave Robert one Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway stock for his work. At the time, that share was worth around $75,000. Today, it is worth over $600,000. Munger didn’t just pay him a compliment; he paid him in equity because he understood the immense value of understanding human behavior. He gifted this book to his family and friends as well.
The Mutiny
I saw biases play out recently when I watched the movie The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial with my parents.
In the film, Queeg, the captain of the ship, puts Maryk, his executive officer, through a court-martial. The reason? On December 18, 1944, Maryk removed Queeg from command in the middle of a typhoon, believing the captain had mentally snapped and was endangering the ship.
At the end of the movie, Maryk is legally acquitted - he “wins” the court case - but the lawyer who defended him (Greenwald) flips the narrative. He drunkenly confronts the officers and argues that Queeg was actually the victim.
It opens up a debate: Was Maryk right to mutiny? Or was Queeg right to demand loyalty?
The answer is that they both were right.
Maryk was right because he saw a captain paralyzed by fear and paranoia during a deadly storm. He acted to save the ship based on the reality he saw.
Queeg was right because he was a career officer doing a dirty, lonely job under immense pressure. He viewed Maryk’s actions not as heroism, but as a betrayal by a subordinate who looked for flaws instead of offering support.
This shows that the same reality, when seen from a different person’s eyes, is completely different. How you interpret that reality depends entirely on the bias you bring to it.
Useful ideas:
1. The “Rashomon” Effect of Leadership
We often think reality is objective – that X happened, so Y is true. But in leadership and life, reality is subjective. Maryk looked for signs of madness in Queeg, so he found them in every twitch and stutter. Queeg looked for signs of disrespect, so he found them in every question. We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.
2. Constructive Loyalty vs. Destructive Cynicism
The real villain in the movie wasn’t the captain; it was the cynicism of the crew. It is easy to sit back and critique the person in charge. It makes us feel smart to spot their flaws. But as the lawyer Greenwald points out, the harder (and more valuable) path is constructive loyalty – helping a flawed leader succeed rather than waiting for them to fail so you can say, “I told you so.”
3. Context Changes the Verdict
In the safety of the courtroom (or a Monday morning meeting), it is easy to judge decisions made in the “storm.” We often strip away the pressure, the fear, and the chaos when we analyze past decisions. Before you judge a decision, try to inhabit the emotional context in which it was made.
See you next Sunday.
👋 I’m Harsh. I collect useful ideas to win in business and life.
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Harsh Batra
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