Author Alasdair White
One of the things to come out of our research into the Performance Life-cycle (From Comfort Zone to Performance Management) concerns the importance of communications. As an organisation passes into the ‘reforming’ phase, management recognises that … Read the rest of this entry »
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Author Alasdair White
The origin of the phrase ‘comfort zone’ is very hard to track down and everyone has a personal definition and understanding of the term. The earliest usage in relation to performance is in the title of Judith Bardwick’s 1991 work ‘Danger in the Comfort Zone: From Boardroom to Mailroom – How to Break the Entitlement Habit that’s Killing American Business’ but, although the book explores performance and behaviour, the author does not even use the term ‘comfort zone’, let alone define it.
Expressions such as ‘being in one’s comfort zone’ or ‘I’m comfortable with that’ exemplify the extent to which the concept has become accepted … Read the rest of this entry »
Author Alasdair White
A quick check in Wikipedia shows that cognitive dissonance is a psychologocial term which describes the uncomfortable tension that may result from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in behaviour that conflicts with one’s beliefs.
It might be simpler to think of it as being the perception of incompatibility between two ideas – often contradictory or paradoxical ideas – which acts as a driver that forces us to invent or acquire new or different thoughts/beliefs/opinions – or to modify exisiting ones – so as to reduce the discord or conflict we perceive. It is cognitive dissonance that stimulates development of new ideas and approaches.