When you're in a group, well, you know, it's easy to get caught up in the moment and make bad decisions for your business. That's one of many reasons you should avoid groupthink. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon where group members make poor decisions or ignore valid alternatives because of internal pressures from the group. It's more common among groups where members share backgrounds and there is no decision-making system or rules. Some organizations have used enterprise decision management (EDM) software to avoid this problem. EDM helps ensure that all stakeholders have input into important decisions—so that everyone can be sure they're making the right choice for their business. Groupthink is dangerous in business, where people from similar professional backgrounds tend to make up executive-level management. When a group of decision-makers is insulated from the realities of day-to-day operations, they can quickly become more concerned with the group's harmony than with the business's health. Whether provided by a piece of software or not, the effects of groupthink can be mitigated by proper decision-making procedures, including gathering feedback from outside members, using models and scenarios, creating metrics to evaluate past decisions, etc. It's easy for executives to get caught up in their little bubbles and forget what's going on at ground level. It's also easy for them to become complacent about their decisions. After all, they know other people think they're great—even if those people only say so because they don't want to rock the boat! Groupthink is especially prevalent in companies with similar backgrounds; employers must hire from different fields and cultures as often as possible. It's also essential for managers to make sure that employees feel comfortable voicing their opinions about how things could be done better (or even differently).