The word “fit” has been used or rather misused so much in so many different industries and ways these days, it’s almost become the new “in” or “trendy” word for anyone that wants to reject a person, an idea, a proposal et el without giving a solid, logical & understandable reason.
Oh it so is the new replacement of the word “gut” or similar; which was always so doomed and discriminatory because businesses and decisions of life need a lot more logical and analytical intervention than the “poor old gut”. And to be honest it is not really a problem of “gut” or “fit” mostly it seems to be a problem of the decision makers biases and limitations.
So here’s the news for all those folks that decide to reject any one or any thing based on the word “fit” — with all due respect you probably have no clue what the proposer is talking about, do you?
Let’s face it the reality is that nothing progressive, different, better or new is meant to be “fit” with any individual or organisation, it is meant to be different. As an example a recruiter or hiring manager rejecting someone after an interview need to provide a better explanation than the “fit” or “gut” being an issue because quite frankly you don’t want clones — you don’t need the same of the same, you need different to succeed. And that is not going to “FIT” so stop making it an excuse of your understanding of the individual when you don’t have any other logical business reasons to reject. Embrace the different!
Cognitive biases doesn’t make someone bad or incapable, and so it is very much something that can be changed or developed further like any other skill. Awareness is the first step to adopting change needed.
Let’s take another example — unconventional business idea, art or even music as many have experienced get rejected so many times initially because people that are seated in the fortunate positions to judge, fear it. They do not understand it, and how dare something or someone they don’t understand be worthy of credit and acknowledgment? Am I hitting a nerve here? Or Am I?
A few other reasons to reject things, people or startups that are not the usual or same is lack of understanding, not being open-minded to possibility and potential, not being accepting of the “different” and its advantages, and lack of interest in a particular subject. And so I urge those people that reject ideas, individuals, proposals etc etc.. to think carefully of their own biases as it is very dangerous for not only themselves but society as a whole — there is so much we can read about these cognitive biases and how risky it is for individuals, businesses, and employers to NOT consider the different.
I will leave you with a short article on the matter here and if you are interested to learn more there is tons of other material that prove how risky cognitive biases can be, so check them out. It is a real and a much larger global issue than we realise.
