Make Way

"Down is not an option."

-- American Dreamz host Martin Tweed when asked where the ratings of his show, the most popular TV program in America, will go from here

You should have seen Boston yesterday. The city was packed. What is it about brilliant sunshine that makes people commute into town on their day off? On Newbury Street, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini were double-parked in front of the Armani Café. The duck boats filled with quacking tourists barely squeezed by. In the Public Garden more than a couple of brides bravely faced down wedding photographers, the chiffon and lace billowing among the apple blossoms.

As usual, over by the park's entrance at Beacon and Charles, Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings also waited patiently to have their pictures taken. In several languages, parents coached their kids to wrap their arms around the little bronze statues and look cute.

If you don't know Robert McCloskey children's book, Make Way for Ducklings, it's about a duck family that walks across Boston's Storrow Drive to live in the Back Bay. Maybe not the most rational decision.

(That's Jack in the photo. More photos are here.)

So what gives? Boston traffic is terrible. The waiting lines for seafood are enormous. Practically nothing's on sale. There're no public bathrooms. People make fun of our politicians -- although not so much lately.

Speaking of self-defeating behavior, check out a new McKinsey & Company article titled: "Learning to Let Go: Making Better Exit Decisions." The authors are John T. Horn, Dan P. Lovallo, and S. Patrick Viguerie. It picks up where a previous McKinsey article, "Hidden Flaws in Strategy," leaves off. (See my comment on that article here. McKinsey requires registration.)

Both articles look at the psychology that block executives from changing course in the face of mounting objective evidence they should. Look at both articles if you want to read about all the biases. See also my commentary on an Adventis article, "Innovation by Business Systems." That one proposes a rational system for cutting your losses early.

Two points. First, it doesn't help to only tell people to let go of something they are clearly passionate about. Letting go is not sufficient. Most people will need to find something else to grab onto first. If you really care about getting someone to change their behavior, you need to show them a better behavior.

Second, people who only act rationally (if they could exist at all) could never be successful either at creating a business or innovating one. Creative output comes from the subconscious - the same place a buyer's passion for a product does. The trick is not knowing when to let go -- but when to let yourself go.

It's when they are most in danger that all living creatures become their most passionate, creative, and focused - the very qualities most important for success. That's when "down" (think baby duck feathers on Boston pavement) is not an option.