It was a typical July afternoon in the little town of Coleman, Texas. A hot wind from the panhandle was blowing fine-grained Texas topsoil right through my in-law's house, while my wife and I, along with her parents, indulged in what for Coleman was a rip-roaring afternoon of entertainment. Domino. Your game, hon. That's another one for Jerry.
Shuffle them. Just my luck to get a son-in-law that can beat me at dominoes. Since those days back in Coleman, I've gone on to study people and how they interact in all kinds of organizations.
But the more I learn about what is now termed organizational dynamics, the more I'm reminded of one particular hot summer afternoon. Five. Fifteen.
It's getting on to four o'clock. What do you want to do about supper? Well, what do y'all say we get in the car, go to Abilene, have supper at the cafe?
Well, that sounds like a good idea. I'd like to go. How about you, Jerry?
How far is it to Abilene? Fifty-three miles. You got the air conditioning fixed in that Buick yet?
Nope. Yeah, well, it sounds like a good idea to me. But I don't want to go, unless your mama wants to go. Well, of course I want to go. You don't think I want to stay here and eat leftovers out of the icebox, do you?
And so, we all piled into the furnace and headed off for Abilene. How about I clear these? Y'all can chat a bit. After a supper that could have provided a first-rate testimonial for antacid, some four hours and 106 miles later, we returned to Coleman. For a long while, there was absolute, teetotal silence.
It was a great trip, wasn't it? And then, the floodgates were opened. Well, to tell you the truth, I'd rather have stayed right here, if only y'all hadn't pressured me to go along.
What do you mean, y'all? I didn't want to go. I only went along to satisfy the rest of you. You're the culprits.
Don't call me a culprit. You and Daddy and Mama are the ones who wanted to go. I just went along to be sociable.
Hey, I didn't want to go. go to Abilene to begin with. I was just making conversation.
How'd I know y'all would take me up on it and ruin my whole day? I can't believe we went to Abilene when nobody wanted to go. Now, if you're wondering if our family ever resolved our conflict, the answer is no.
Because strange as it may seem, we never really were in conflict. You didn't think I wanted to go, did you? But why did you suggest that we go to Abilene?
in the first place. I was just testing the waters. Y'all took me Serious.
Ruined a perfectly good Sunday afternoon. I later came to call it the Abilene Paradox. When groups of people take actions in contradiction to what they, as individuals, really want, and end up defeating the very purposes they set out to achieve.
In fact, the Abilene Paradox says that the inability to manage agreement, rather than conflict, is one of the most urgent issues facing our organizations, then and now. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Some years later, I was reminded of the Abilene Paradox when I got hired as a part-time consultant for an intriguing assignment. Production is on a downturn, and our profit picture is in transition.
None of our staff know what to do about it. That's why we ask you here. Do you have any questions? Yeah.
What's this Project X? An albatross. The guys down in R&D think they can turn peanut oil into jet fuel. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea, on paper.
But between you and me, it'll never fly. Why not? The technology just isn't there yet. Have you considered some kind of formal reassessment of the viability of the project?
Oh, not me. The stockholders love it. Big spread in the Wall Street Journal. Besides, I have a vice president who is willing to stake her entire reputation on the success of this project. Well, is she aware of your reservations?
Are you kidding? I've got an answer myself over this. You think I want to give her one? So how do you handle this? Every few days I go over to her office and see things like hang in there, victory or death, stiff upper lip, stuff like that.
Isn't that what a president's supposed to do? I decided to find out what the VP thought about Project X Peanut oil and a jet fuel You've got to be kidding No, Project X is a dead end street I don't get it, if you know that, why not stop it? You try to stop it when the president's in your office every few days Telling you to hang in there, victory or death, stiff upper lip So why don't you tell him you think it's a dead end?
Not me That project is a sacred cow Anyway, who knows, maybe the those people down in R&D could pull a rabbit out of the hat. Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time. Like the president before her, the VP strongly advised me to look elsewhere for the cause of Acme's problems. But by the time I got around to interviewing the R&D director, it was clear that there was just no ignoring Project X. Did you ever try to turn peanut oil into jet fuel? Craziest thing I ever heard.
What? The VP said that your reports... Oh, and I write those reports ambiguously enough so the board can interpret them in any way they please.
In fact, I sort of slant them to the positive side, given how committed the brass are to the project. But, if the project is unworkable, why don't you tell them? See the woman at that workstation?
It's empty. Exactly. Rumor has it she's the last one who criticized Project X. Look, I'm middle-aged.
I got two kids in college. I got alimony payments. There's no job market for a guy with my skills.
I should have seen it then. The culprit wasn't Project X. Everyone believed privately that the project was doomed to failure. But they were simply unable or unwilling to share that belief with each other. They were on a trip to Abilene when nobody wanted to go.
A few years later, I discovered that the Abilene Paradox applies not only to corporations, but also to couples. Hello, Professor Harvey. Why do you look so down, Sue? You'd be down, too, if you were marrying George on Saturday. But George is a great guy.
Sure he is. But I don't love him. I don't even like him. In fact, I can't even stand him. Then why in the world are you getting married?
He gave me an engagement ring. If you don't love him, don't you think you ought to give it back? I can't do that. Mama loves him.
And she has a heart condition. If I backed out now, she'd probably have a heart attack. Oh, and besides, there's a room full of presents and the bridesmaid, she has her dress.
This is a small town. I'd be a laughing stock. I'm not that pretty.
I might never get married. But how did all this happen? Well, you got me.
I gave Sue a ring. Now I'm marrying a girl I don't even love. Well, if you don't love her, don't you think you ought to ask for the ring back? No, I can't do that.
I'd be a laughing stock. Besides, her mama thinks the world of me. And then there's all that presents. I ain't all that good looking.
I may not get another chance. The crazy thing was, Sue and George were in total agreement about their impending marriage. But they still seemed determined to spend a lifetime together on the road to Abilene.
Pretty absurd, isn't it? People taking actions in direct contradiction to what they really think is best, and as a result, compounding their problems rather than solving them. The big question is...
Why? To answer that, we're going to need to explore the psychological principles from which the Abilene Paradox draws its enormous power. To be or not to be.
That is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or by opposing end them. First of all, there's action anxiety, which is epitomized by perhaps the most famous dramatic character of all time, Shakespeare's Hamlet.
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, thus conscience doth make cowards of us all. To maintain my integrity or to compromise it, that is the question. Whether to snoblin'the mind to risk managing a doomed research project.
When we are anxious about what action to choose, even though, unlike Hamlet, we may have... perfectly sensible choice in mind, we may simply refuse to act at all. Thus fear of unemployment doth make cowards of us all. Well answer this, Sue. What'll happen if you call it off?
Second, we often find ourselves conjuring up negative fantasies of the disaster we're certain will occur if we actually do what we think we should. You know it'll happen if I call off this wedding. No, I don't.
Tell me. Mama? I don't know how to tell you this, but George and I, we're not gonna get married. Such negative fantasies serve an important function.
They give us an ironclad excuse for inaction, and what is really called for is action. But can we ever really play it safe? The answer is no.
We can't. Mamas do sometimes suffer heart attacks. And R&D directors do sometimes lose their jobs. For your lack of support for Project X, you're fired.
Effective immediately. Clean out your desk and turn in your keys. Excuse me, sir?
What did you say? I said, I'm glad we're all fired up about Project X. Oh, right, right, absolutely. Real risk is a condition of human existence. It's one of life's givens. all of our actions have the potential of a negative outcome.
By attempting to avoid risk, all we're really doing is choosing to take a trip to Abilene instead, a choice that often has... Far greater risk. Then you agree we shouldn't divert any of the Project X funding into other smaller projects? Well, no.
It would dissipate our focus, delaying a possible breakthrough. Well, I feel that way, too. I think that we should push on. We're close now. All those in favor of continuing Project X?
But what is it we're really risking that makes us so fearful? Embarrassment Being ostracized Being branded a non-team player In short, we fear separation but therein lies a paradox within a paradox because the more unwilling we are to risk being ostracized the more likely we are to make a choice that will inevitably lead to the separation we fear can you believe it we're in the wall street journal again great they spell our names right this time yes unfortunately Please be seated. We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the immutable bonds of holy matrimony. In a sense, we actually confuse fantasy and reality in our minds.
What we imagine will go wrong if we say what's in our hearts becomes more real to us than the far more likely disaster that will result from going along with the crowd. Are our... operating costs are sucking this entire company down.
We've failed to meet payroll. One of the most foolproof signs of a trip to Abilene is the assignment of blame. Identifying a a scapegoat. Now, I want to know who's responsible. Don't look at me.
I was relying on the progress reports out of R&D. But assigning blame is not just wasteful, it's irrelevant, because it perpetuates the illusion that conflict is the problem when everyone is actually in unanimous agreement. Wait a minute.
You're not laying this off on me. Want to bet? You're on probation.
I'm removing... I'm removing you from all projects immediately. I'm turning over R&D to the Vice President until further notice.
Consider carefully... Nothing can be accomplished between people without an agreement, voiced or not. And that is... This concludes A Trip to Abilene. If there is anyone present who can show reason why these two should not be joined in eternal bonds of matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.
In a sense, all passengers on the Abilene Express are in collusion with one another, and therefore are all equally to blame. Hi. Hello.
You know, I was wondering about our meeting, and have you ever thought... that maybe it's Project X that's causing the drain in R&D? No.
Of course, it's tempting to want to assign blame to the leader. Besides, the boss is so gung-ho. Well, he wouldn't cancel it even if it was.
No, you're right, he wouldn't. However, blaming the leader is really just another form of collusion. In fact, all members are equally responsible for team action or inaction. Even if, say, you and I tried to cancel it, he wouldn't let us. No, you're right.
He wouldn't. No. More important, by the time a group reaches this point, all its members are victims.
That's real good now, isn't it? Yes, thank you. Congratulations. Your trip to Abilene is complete. So now that we understand how we get on the road to Abilene, isn't there some way we can avoid such wasteful and destructive excursions?
The answer is yes. First of all, each of us has to assess the real risk of taking action, as well as the risk of taking no action at all. Do you, George, take this woman, Sue, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Second, each of us has a choice. Remain silent or own up to our own beliefs and feelings without attributing beliefs and feelings to others.
For as long as you... you both shall live. I do.
And you soon take this man George to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live. I don't know about you, George, but I don't really want to get married. You don't?
No, George, I'm sorry. Sorry? He was never really right for my soul.
And we've cut back on technicians, clerical utilities, and scrapped non-essentials. Third, what is often required is confrontation in a group setting, not with new information or arguments. but with what the group has already silently agreed upon.
Now, I did get one anonymous suggestion, which was cancel Project X. Actually, that was me. Hear me out. I know I've sung its praises as much as anybody, but I honestly don't believe Project X will work. I think it's a bottomless pit, and nothing's going to come out of it.
You know, I think terminating this project... could significantly enhance our financial profile. We'd have a chance, just a chance, of recouping first quarter losses.
Do you realize what you're saying? Yes, I do. I only wish I'd had the nerve to suggest it earlier. This project has been ill-advised from the start. It may even bankrupt us.
Do you mean that you and I and the rest of us have been dragging along a research project that none of us thought would work? It's crazy. I don't know why we did it.
Well, neither do I. All right, let's cancel this blasted project and figure out how to do something productive to save this organization. All right? Come on. Get to work.
The Abilene Paradox. You wouldn't think folks could make something so simple as being in agreement such a problem. But paradoxes are usually such because they're based on a logic different from what we understand or expect.
If we... If we can break that logic and also have the courage of our convictions, our teams can grow and flourish. Thanks for visiting the Abilene Cafe.
Y'all come back now, you hear? I'm going to make an educated guess that you don't have double six. Double six. Domino.
I guess I need a mite more education. What do y'all say we get in the car and drive up to Amarillo for some ice cream?