Hasta La Creative!

In 1966, the American economist Alfred E. Kahn published an article describing situations in which a number of small decisions — each insignificant in nature when viewed in isolation — cumulatively result in an unintended and negative outcome.

In economic terms, this “tyranny of small decisions” is easily understood from the tragedy of the commons, in which a group of herders grazes their cows on a shared field. Each acting independently, and focusing on what he perceives to be his self-interest, the herders ultimately deplete the commons of its nutrients. As a result of focusing in a myopic and shortsighted manner, their commons is left barren. The result of their choices is devastating.

Which brings us to the myriad applications of this phenomenon in our own industry, where each day brings an increasing number of decisions. It behooves us to stop and consider the nature of small ones to which we may not give heavy scrutiny.

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