Although Skepticism (or Scepticism) can seem essentially negative as it’s about critical thinking, expressing doubt, and searching for, questioning and evaluating evidence, it does seem to share a lot with the notion of evidence-based practice in general and evidence-based management. This blog from a UK magazine discusses the Skeptics’ ‘movement’ in both the UK and the US and their involvement in political activity.
My guess is that a lot of the people interested in EBMgt are also naturally quite Skeptical. As this blog points out, given that two of the premises of Skepticism are doubt and critical thinking skeptics do not tend to organize themselves well or coherently:
“when cats complain, they complain of herding Skeptics”
I wonder if the same would be said by cats about herding people with an interest in evidence-based management?
Relevant websites
I think the observed connection between those interested in EBMgt and skepticism is right on the money. In my practice as a management consultant, I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time debunking modern management myths. Being a skeptic has helped in this regard. Skeptical sources (websites, etc.) are filled with insightful ideas as to how to get people to re-examine their assumptions and beliefs (or whether it is possible to do so) with the objective of having them see things differently. Doing this is essential in a management/organizational context – management won’t pursue ideas that run contrary to their assumptions about the way the world works.