Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 2, Issue 48;   November 27, 2002: Trips to Abilene

Trips to Abilene

by

When a group decides to take an action that nobody agrees with, but which no one is willing to question, we say that they're taking a trip to Abilene. Here are some tips for noticing and preventing trips to Abilene.

Now that Marilyn and Phil understood why Marigold was so hard to manage, they met with Ellen, Marigold's sponsor. After some small talk, Marilyn opened with, "So we think that the problem with Marigold might be that the team is too spread out. Between our site, Wellington, and Europe we've got too many time zones. We can't even find meeting times — someone's always asleep."

Abilene, Texas, USA"I'm not surprised," Ellen said. "I wondered about that from the beginning."

That got Phil's attention. "Wait, I thought you warned us against hiring locally. You said we'd never get approval in time, so we went with the Wellington people, even though they're 2000 miles away."

"Yes, true, I did warn you. But I think I said it would be 'a neat trick' getting the approval. All I meant was that you might need my help. I thought it would at least be worth a try."

Marilyn tried to smooth things out. "So you actually preferred a local team, but you went along with our Wellington idea because we seemed willing?"

"More or less."

In a trip to Abilene,
nobody feels that
the group is
behaving sensibly
Cooling off, Phil began to understand. "And we were trying to do what we thought you wanted."

Marilyn added, "A gifts-of-the-magi kind of thing," referring to the story by O. Henry.

"More like a trip to Abilene," Phil answered.

Phil is referring to an insightful work by Jerry Harvey, The Abilene Paradox, which describes how a group can commit to a course that no member favors. In a trip to Abilene, nobody feels that the group is behaving sensibly. Because they all feel that everyone else favors the group's choice, no one questions it. The group then takes action that no one agrees with.

How can you tell when you're on a trip to Abilene? And what can you do about it?

Notice your own doubts
Noticing your own reservations can be difficult. Practice by privately rating your own concurrence with group decisions as Low, Neutral, and High.
When you're uneasy, inquire
When you do notice that you're uneasy with a group decision, express your doubts, and ask specific questions. For instance, Ellen could have said, "I'm uneasy with the Wellington idea. How will we deal with the problems of managing them remotely?" Take care, though. In some settings critical inquiry can be seen as negative or unsupportive, even though it's almost always healthy and helpful.
Check for the Abilene itinerary
Whenever a team makes a decision of any kind, it's wise to check for trips to Abilene. Try asking, "I'd like to check: are we on a trip to Abilene?" A chorus of No's isn't a guarantee, but asking the question often works.

Protecting against trips to Abilene is worth the effort — tickets to Abilene are nonrefundable. Go to top Top  Next issue: Message Mismatches  Next Issue

101 Tips for Effective MeetingsDo you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management 1st EditionRead more in a wonderful book by Jerry B. Harvey, The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988. Order from Amazon.com.

See also "Staying in Abilene," Point Lookout for August 14, 2013, and "Virtual Trips to Abilene," Point Lookout for March 4, 2015.

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

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Related programs

Managing in Fluid EnvironmentsMaking good decisions quickly is extremely important in dynamic, rapidly-changing environments. Because the Abilene Paradox can so easily interfere with sound decision making, understanding the paradox can be most helpful in such situations. My program, "Managing in Fluid Environments," explores de in situations where cision-making in such situations, where changes come along at such a rapid rate that the next change arrives before we reach the "New Status Quo" of the changes we're already dealing with. More about this program.

Are you planning an offsite or retreat for your organization? Or a conference for your professional society? My programs are fresh, original, and loaded with concrete tips that make an immediate difference. ChacoCanyon.com.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

A meeting in a typical conference roomComing April 3: Recapping Factioned Meetings
A factioned meeting is one in which participants identify more closely with their factions, rather than with the meeting as a whole. Agreements reached in such meetings are at risk of instability as participants maneuver for advantage after the meeting. Available here and by RSS on April 3.
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A cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect can create risk for organizational missions that require expertise beyond the range of knowledge and experience of decision-makers. They might misjudge the organization's capacity to execute the mission successfully. They might even be unaware of the risk of so misjudging. Available here and by RSS on April 10.

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