Unconscious Bias

Back in the days before streaming TV, people were concerned mostly with mammoths: how to find them, how to stalk them, how to kill them, and how to consume them. People, being people, developed some pretty strong opinions about the entire process. Had you asked one of those people why they arrived at the conclusions they did, they would have said, “Because that’s the way you do it. That’s what is best. Period.” If they did everything they believed was correct, and still didn’t find or catch a mammoth, they would have said, “It’s not my fault. I did everything right. It was the mammoth’s fault.”

Mankind hasn’t made much progress since then. We make decisions constantly that we believe will keep us alive, keep us fed, keep us warm, keep us mated. Over the millenia, we have simply added “keep us entertained.” Like the mammoth hunters, we believe that the choices we make are made objectively. They are the only correct choices to be made. And, when our choices don’t serve us, we have handy reasons why they failed: The boss didn’t like me. My wife turned out to be a bitch. Jews/Immigrants/Liberals are ruining the world.

The question is, what might our choices look like if they came from a different place? What might they look like if we could expand our decision-making process in order to make healthier, more powerful choices?

Enter Lorne Epstein, HR professional, author of the popular book, “You’re Hired!”, radio show host, and someone out to change the world. Lorne has created an online experiential workshop that allows people to see that the decisions we make are often made when we aren’t aware of making them. They are made based on unconscious bias, rather than rational consideration. Once we realize that we have access to far more powerful tools with which to made decisions, we can make far more powerful decisions.

Life in the Boomer Lane interviewed Lorne for her radio show. In the short time the interview occurred, she was blown away by realizing that some of her own decision-making processes were often based on assumptions, on previous experiences, on events that occurred during her childhood, or on how those decisions would be viewed by others.. They weren’t based on current reality or on how those decisions would serve her in the best way possible.

For some, decisions based on unconscious bias can result in small complications or small setbacks. For others, the fallout can be major. The current polarization of society is a perfect (and extreme) example of how people can make choices that not only don’t serve them, but may actually do them harm. (Note to Readers: This last sentence is LBL’s own. The workshop is not political and isn’t about bashing Trump supporters.)

The goal of the workshop is to be aware of how we make decisions, and to get the tools that enable us to access a larger number of choices to reach intended outcomes. It’s extremely simple and it’s oh-so powerful. You can sign up for the workshop by going to lorneepsteinshow.com. Workshops are held every month. The cost is $9.99 and even offers HR credits. The workshop length is 90 minutes.

If you had taken the workshop, you’d be able to use your enhanced decision making skills and sign up immediately. But then you wouldn’t have to take the workshop, right? If you haven’t taken the workshop yet, you’ll have to use your tired old skills to decide. But your tired old skills might have to not take the workshop. Hopefully, you will decide to enroll anyway. I can rest easy now, having done everything I can to both confuse myself and to spur you on.