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Most of us live in a world of full inboxes, shifting deadlines and a confusing array of acronyms and buzzwords. We often need heuristics (a mental shortcut or rule of thumb) and biases as a way of navigating the swirling sea of information, decisions and choices while quickly sorting the “chaff from the wheat” in our daily lives.

If life is the study of attention, then what we pay attention to is intimately related to what we think about most, which is based on various predilections and predispositions of our three-tiered brain (e.g., see the use of redundant messaging, vivid and active imaging, sexual links, etc.).

Heuristics and biases are ubiquitous because they are innate to the human animal. They apply to customers, colleagues, executives, investors and any other category to which we assign human beings.

To better understand how people's distortions, shortcuts and biases affect how you market to various stakeholders, you should be aware of people's thinking patterns and perceptual filters, including your own.

The biases and heuristics that are most relevant to this discussion include anchoring and adjustment, availability bias and confirmation bias.

Anchoring and Adjustment

Various independent lines of research suggest that to explain or describe an event, people anchor on the first number or evidence they hear. Witness the countless examples of professionals using strategic anchoring to cut a better deal or bring you closer to their position.

In one research study on this topic, participants were asked to estimate the percentage of African countries in the United Nations. Before the participants answered, they watched the research leader spin a wheel with numbers from 1 to 100. When the wheel landed on 10, one group of participants guessed 25%. When the wheel landed on 65, another group guessed 45%.

This example may seem trivial, but along with other corroborating studies it demonstrates that in areas of ambiguity or uncertainty people often latch onto random flashes of certainty or confidence.

The other part of this heuristic is the act of insufficient adjustments or calibrations from an anchor (which may or may not be credible). We typically see this adjustment played out in various negotiation situations.

For example, the buyer will anchor the seller on a bad-faith offer (e.g., low-ball them), hoping the seller will make an insufficient adjustment, with the buyer then coming out ahead.

This scenario can also be played out with a seller anchoring the buyer to an unrealistic price, hoping the buyer thinks that a legitimate concession is being made when conceding to a deal.

When the anchor issue pertains to a price, however, we have to take into account the price-quality relationship and the work of social psychologists demonstrating the law of perceptual consistency, which compels people to convince themselves that the more expensive item is actually better, even if it's not.

Net, Net: Become more aware of the heuristic of anchoring and adjustment and how it can help or hurt you in reaching your objectives with various stakeholders.

Availability Bias

This bias is related to the concept of mindshare—or how much people are thinking about your idea, product, company or position, as well as the source of their thinking. The information most available to us often comes from the media. People tend to diagnose problems or issues based on the most recent cause they've experienced.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Michael Perla

Michael Perla is Sr. director & life sciences people leader, Business Value Services, at Salesforce.

LinkedIn: Michael Perla