Groupthink

Groups prioritize harmony and consensus over critical thinking. Dissenting voices are suppressed — by the group and by the dissenters themselves — and decisions deteriorate as a result.

• The Bay of Pigs invasion: Kennedy's advisors unanimously supported the plan — dissenters self-censored to avoid conflict, and the operation was a catastrophe.
• The Challenger disaster: engineers who knew the O-rings were dangerously compromised were overruled by managers worried about schedule.
• Board meetings where every director agrees with the CEO — and the company drives off a cliff that any independent analysis would have revealed.