“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed,” wrote Alexander Pope.
We associate placebos with medical trials, where they often have an unexpected [not rational] positive impact. Placebos run on the power of suggestion.
If they have proved (at times) effective in medicine are placebos applied in business? Perhaps placebo’s impacting organisations’ performance has been hiding in plain sight?
In management thinking, expectations abound, driving executives to feverishly perform. Performance dashboards based on, for instance, OKR, (objectives and key results) and fancy bordering on real time graphic software are all the rage.
But is it possible to blissfully cruise through the workday, unconcerned about what anyone thinks? From financial projections to operational targets, to the often voodoo-like attempts to get staff to be more productive, expectations are a cornerstone of business.
Mysterious pleasing impact
Placebo comes from the Latin phrase for “I shall please”. When a person experiences a positive physical - or mental improvement after receiving a non-therapeutic treatment, this is the placebo effect.
This is a fascinating and well-documented phenomenon in medicine. We like to think we are different, with a rational logical scientific explanation for everything. Turns out we are predicably irrational; the placebo effect can still work its magic on us.
Stories about the effectiveness of placebos abound - often harmless sugar pills that can produce similar, or even better, outcomes than costly, long-developed medications.
While placebo trials were interesting, some thought them to be of limited application outside of drug trials. As our scientific understanding of the power of the mind grows, it is worth taking a look at how we can harness this phenomenon, not just for health, but also for business performance.
Shocking outcome - expectations rule
In a 2002 landmark study that appeared as the lead article in the New England Journal of Medicine, a group of researchers recruited 180 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
The patients were randomly assigned three possible treatments - standard knee surgery (arthroscopic debridement), a saline wash of the joint, or a placebo surgery where an incision was made, but nothing was actually done.
The study followed the patients over the next two years, and surprisingly, all subjects reported the same level of pain relief and function.
The standard surgical procedure appeared no better for pain relief than pretending a surgery had occurred. As one can imagine, this investigation on the impact of placebos rocked the medical establishment, with some doctors crying foul and questioning the method and results of the study.
“Two mechanisms shape the expectations that make placebos work. One is belief - our confidence or faith in the drug, the procedure, or the caregiver. Sometimes just the fact that a doctor or a nurse is paying attention to us and reassuring us not only makes us feel better, but also triggers our internal healing processes.
“Even a doctor’s enthusiasm for a particular treatment or procedure may predispose us toward a positive outcome. The second mechanism is conditioning. Like Pavlov’s famous dogs (that learned to salivate at the ring of a bell), the body builds up expectancy after repeated experiences and releases various chemicals to prepare us for the future,” explains behavioural scientist Dan Ariely. That may be fine for medical trials, but does the placebo effect play a role in day-to-day business?
Day to day impact
Do you sleep better in the bed and mattress bought for Sh3,000 at the less than pristine roadside duka, or one bought for Sh60,000 at the close to antiseptic hygienic shop in the fancy mall? Does the wine purchased in a box for a fraction of the cost of more expensive vintages taste a bit off? Do the mitumba jeans bought for Sh500 make you feel better than one for Sh5,000?
Is a cheaper generic painkiller less effective than an expensive one? Turns out the placebo effect is alive and well in marketing and retailing.
Research suggests consumers tend to believe that just because an item has a higher price it will be better. “Pricing drives the efficacy of placebo painkillers and energy drinks” and just about everything else, reports Ariely.
But what about the placebo effect in management? Just as the caring and sensitivity of your physician can have a reassuring ‘get well soon’ impact on you feeling better, does the same placebo effect have an impact in the corridors of commerce, or in the well-meaning ‘social good’ aims of NGOs and donors?
Having a likeable, perhaps even bordering on charismatic senior manager can transform a group of confused disillusioned staff into a cohesive team with a clear aim. (It’s become fashionable to bless this capable manager with the title of: Leader).
Placebo effect may be at play when the annual ritual teambuilding takes place. It may be that just playing games, not really digging into the essence of what really makes a team, has an impact, simply because the now happy energised staff believe they are a ‘team’?
Every so often, most businesses and non-profits go through the ritual of the strategic plan. Despite not paying attention to the distinction - a plan is not a strategy, and a strategy is not a plan, the rain dancing routine takes place.
Here again the placebo effect may be at play, having staff believe their actions are ‘strategic’, simply because of a liberal sprinkling of the ‘strategic’ magic powder.
Bottom line: It may be a bitter pill to expect nothing. We (often) get what we expect - with the illusive placebo effect, playing an irrational role.
