Published in 1949, '1984' is a cautionary tale by George Orwell that explores the dangers of totalitarianism. The novel is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three super-states, with the protagonist Winston Smith living in Oceania, ruled by the mysterious and omnipotent leader Big Brother. Winston works at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the Party's ever-changing narrative. He begins an illicit love affair with Julia and starts to rebel against the Party, but they are eventually caught and subjected to brutal torture and indoctrination. The novel highlights themes of government surveillance, manipulation of language and history, and the suppression of individual freedom and independent thought.
In 'Willful Blindness', Margaret Heffernan delves into the psychology behind why people and institutions often choose to ignore or overlook evident, harmful information or truths. The book uses real-world examples such as the Enron scandal, the Catholic Church sexual abuse cases, and the BP oil spill to explain how willful blindness develops and its consequences. Heffernan discusses various factors contributing to this phenomenon, including cognitive dissonance, obedience to authority, love, fear, and the need for social acceptance. She argues that while willful blindness is a natural human tendency, it is possible to overcome it through intention and attention, and by challenging biases and encouraging debate.
In this episode of the Evolving Leader podcast, co-hosts Jean Gomes and Scott talk to entrepreneur, Chief Executive, broadcaster, and author Dr Margaret Heffernan. Margaret writes, speaks and blogs about business leadership, management, innovation and creativity, and her TED talks have been seen by over 14 million people. Margaret has written six books and her third book, ‘Wilful Blindness, Why We Ignore The Obvious’ was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. Her most recent book ‘Uncharted: How To Map The Future’ was published in 2020 and was nominated for the Financial Times Best Business Book award.
'Wilful Blindness: Why We Ignore The Obvious At Out Peril'
0.00 Introduction
4.04 How would you introduce yourself to someone you’ve not met at a dinner party?
5.33 You wrote ‘Wilful Blindness’ in 2012. Considering the vast changes that we’ve seen since the book was published, how do you see its central thesis today?
8.53 If you were talking to a group of leaders today, what would you ask them to confront to raise their awareness of wilful blindness and prevent the conditions for it flourishing?
21.02 What behaviours have you seen from leaders who are great at eliminating or reducing wilful blindness?
24.11 If we turn to your book ‘Beyond Measure’ which you wrote in 2015, in it you describe how transforming a company can be a process of making small systemic changes that empower people to speak up, collaborate and share. Can you tell us more about that?
28.51 In Uncharted, you write ‘being prepared in an age of uncertainty can intensify the craving for models’. Can you build on that?
38.55 This relationship between uncertainty and predictions is fascinating. What are your thoughts on the role that machine learning is playing in our relationship with predictions and what are some of the risks that you see?
45.29 If you could go back to Margaret Heffernan at 20, what advice would you give yourself as a future entrepreneur and leader?
51.03 What’s next for you, what are you working on at the moment?
53.36 It’s interesting to hear how you are currently reinventing yourself and therefore putting yourself into a high degree of vulnerability which sounds like it’s making you feel very alive. How is that effecting your wider life?
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The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.
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