Reference #22: What Got You Here Won't Get You There

While being good obsessed is not a flaw in itself, it can create flaws. A short-sighted focus on a goal can lead you to achieve it while undermining your longer-term mission or values.

Darley and Batson's 1972 "Good Samaritan" study is a classic case of the negative outcomes of goal obsession. In this study, a group of Princeton theology students were told to deliver a sermon on the Good Samaritan in a lecture theatre across campus.

Having been told they were running late, and so being focused on making their way to their goal as quickly as possible, 90% of the students ignored calls for help by an injured victim (played by an actor) they passed en route to their sermon.

Goldsmith. What Got You Here Won't Get You There, 2008. (101)

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