John V. Petrocelli

From every angle, whether it be from colleagues, meetings, or the marketplace of business ideas, business leaders constantly encounter bullshit that plagues their judgments, beliefs, and decisions. Short of lying, the sources of bullshit pay no attention to truth, evidence, or established knowledge, and use a broad array of rhetorical strategies to sound like they know what they are talking about when their obligations to provide an opinion far exceed their actual knowledge. How informed can beliefs about anything—and decisions based on those beliefs—be if they are based on bullshit-reasoning and communication? How can bullshit in the workplace be better detected and disposed? This session directly addresses commonly encountered bullshit in the workplace and its unwanted effects in the ways of better detection, better disposal, and better decisions.

Key Learning Takeaways:

1. A better understanding of the conditions under which business leaders are most likely to encounter bullshit positions them to better detect, and dispose of, bullshit.
2. Better understandings of the consequences of bullshit, and the critical questions to ask suspecting bullshitters, facilitate optimal decision making in the workplace.
3. A better understanding of the many benefits of relying on evidence-based communication and reasoning positions business leaders to make better decisions from hiring to investments to marketing and mergers.