Those are the details on the part of the Management Thinking Mistakes app (check in apple iphone app store) during the course on Management Dilemmas of the 21st Century at Harvard University led by Dr Mark Esposito. WiB/ lritzel were invited to lecture, coach the project and be part of this exciting new course offered at Harvard extension

1. WiB
Management Thinking Mistakes App
Project objectives for Harvard course
by Lukas Ritzel , Oct 2, 2013 onwards

2. The links
• Starting page http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com/home
• The whole script whch goes along with the Prezi and recording
http://goo.gl/vxzMQD
• The project description http://goo.gl/ixDt8w
• The Prezi as a separate link http://goo.gl/FYbyaD
• The recording of the session on the ‘Management Thinking Mistakes App’
http://goo.gl/A9JpBh
• The download link for the App itself http://goo.gl/00TPFc
• Landing Page with more information www.managementthinkingmistakes.ch
• Lukas Ritzel contacts
– Skype: lritzel
– eMail: lritzel@wib.ch
– LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lukasritzel
19.12.2013
http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com/home
2

3. Project Description
• This is a group work, the groups are the standard groups
which you as well use in class
Deadline: November 24th, 2013 midnight US time
Delivery: eMail with attached PDF report, name of group and
all group members, send it to my email at lritzel@wib.ch
Objective:
Select one new logical thinking mistakes (not yet covered in
the app, list of all current mistakes is listed here at the end)
19.12.2013
http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com/home
3

4. Discuss and research ‘your’ mistake and support
an entry to the apps with following data:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Explain this dilemma or logical mistake in short (1-2 sentences, compact and precise)
Describe real live samples from your own experience or as well based on internet research (adding then of
course your reference), the samples should be covering as well business samples, it can be known samples
or based on your own experiences)
Reference and look up material (links to movies, book suggestions or online videos, all what people should
have to dig a bit deeper)
A more detailed explanation going deeper in your research of this specific fallacy (This can be quite
extensive from 5 sentences to half an A4 page)
The origin of its name, who brought it up a first time, in which context, when was this mistake discussed a
first time, a possible link to a internet source backing it up)
Come up with your own suggestions and tips how to avoid it (your suggestions), tools which may help to
avoid this logical mistake, situations
In which situation (meeting objective, decision making scenario) do you believe you may be facing 'your'
error of thinking (list not more than 4-5 'usages')
Find management tools (refer to the great selection at www.mindtools.com ) which may help to fight
'your' error of thinking in such a business context of decision making or meeting. (List 3-6)
Describe an idea for a business cartoon (script for our cartoonist Sidao from Brazil who draw all
our cartoons within the app
19.12.2013
http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com/home
4

5. Thinking mistakes already taken...
• Confirmation Bias, Survivorship Bias, Over-generalization, Mind
Reading, Fortune Telling, Google Effect, FUTON Bias, NAA Bias, Media
Bias, Personalization and Blame, Black & White
Thinking, Cryptomnesia, Modality Effect, Self-Reference Effect, Spacing
Effect, Tip of the tongue, von Restorff Effect, Zeigarnik Effect, Argument
from Fallacy, Gambler's Fallacy, Historian's Fallacy, Nirvana Fallacy, Kettle
Logic, Regression Fallacy, Cherry Picking, Appeal to Novelty, Hedonic
Treadmill, Halo Effect, Devil’s Effect, Groupthink, Ellsberg
Paradox, Prospect Theory, Facebook Fallacy, Red Herring, Middle
Ground, Proteus Effect, Death Effect, Parade of Horribles, Pink Floyd
Fallacy, Relevance Paradox , Filter Bubble, Hello Kitty Effect, Perfect Crowd
Fallacy, Crossing the Chasm
Still about 1 Million out there missing...
19.12.2013
http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com/home
5

6. Benchmark (sample)...
•
here below a sample of a logical mistake which is already covered in the current version for you as a kind of benchmark:
Name: von Restorff Effect
Dilemma: People believe there is a risk in offering something (advertising, consultancy, service etc) that's different from successful competitors.
Explanation: The von Restorff Effect tries to contradict this, standing out in contrast to your competitors helps you command consumer attention and increases recall.
This Effect states that any technique which increases novelty also improves recall. This effect explains why unusual advertising or distinctive packaging tends to facilitate recall.
Sample: The Super Bowl final from 2013 will certainly be remembered more than all the others. Not because Beyonce finally could deliver with a life audition of the US national anthem, not even
because of the reappearance of Destiny’s Child but because of very unusually long during complete power outage just after Beyonce’s performance, which provoked Beyonce’s Husband Jaz-Z to tweet:
"Lights out!!! Any questions??"
Do your remember this Advertisment? A black silhouette of a guy dancing on a vibrant colored background with white headphones. This Apple iPod commercial was genius. Years ago, people were
accustomed to black headphones, which is why the white headphones left a long-term impression. The best part? The commercial was very sustainable. Once you knew the white headphones belonged
to Apple, every time you saw them on the street, you couldn't help but think of an iPod.
Or try this
Try to remember this list (take a few seconds and then look away): Jump, Cut, Run, Fly, Duck-billed platypus, Read, Build, Lay
One out of my own experience, I might have forgotten the day, when I stood in front of my students in my hippie outfit (it was during a no business dress day). But certainly not my students. Having
known me for years only in a black business suit, my students still now remember me wearing this freaky 70s flower power outfit.
Cartoon:
Origin: The Von Restorff effect (named after psychiatrist and children's paediatrician Hedwig von Restorff 1906–1962) is also called the isolation effect.
Originlink: http://blog.staffannoteberg.com/tag/hedwig-von-restorff/
Tip: As much as we support the idea of what stands behind this effect. We still as well observe in many cases that companies force themselves to be different without thinking all through. It is not the
being different which ensures the success. As in the Sample of the white headset of the Apple iPod, there was as well an incredible technology and user friendliness coming with it. Not only did Apple
just reinvent the music machine but they did do a lot of customer observation before launching this new product and listened very well about what the music fan wanted to do most of all.
Usages: Burning, Informal, Planning, Motivate
Management Tools: Force Field Analysis, Constructive Controversy, Pareto Analysis, Boston Consulting Group Matrix, SWOT Analysis
19.12.2013
http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com/home
6

7. The Interview by Cruxial CIO
• http://www.cruxialcio.com/app-get-ceo%E2%80%99s-think-straight-1526
20. April 2011
WIB_Dokumentname.pptx
7

8. LOOK FOR THE
VOIDS
-AND FILL
THEM
managementthinkingmistakes.ch

9. contact
lritzel@wib.ch
lritzel@gmail.com
Skype: lritzel
WIKI http://denkfehler-app.wikispaces.com
19.12.2013
9