The C.R.A.P. framework for dealing with bullshit

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Programming note: This is my last post before my usual summer hiatus and as such it is on the lighter side of things. The next regular post will be published on Monday, 2 September 2024. Enjoy the rest of August.

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Trigger warning: I will use the word ‘bullshit’ a lot in this article. Note that this is not done to offend readers. Instead, ‘bullshit’ is used in its technical definition developed by Harry G. Frankfurt to differentiate it from lying: A liar is someone who knows the truth and distorts it to manipulate people or further an agenda. A bullshitter, meanwhile, makes statements without regard for the truth. They simply want to further their agenda without any care as to whether the statements are true or not. If you feel like you cannot handle this usage, I apologise for any offence I may have already caused, and I suggest you skip this edition.

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We are surrounded by bullshit. One might even say we are drowning in it. And while most bullshit is harmful; we note that it depends on the context. André Spicer coined the term ‘artisanal bullshit’, which is deployed in social settings. This is what the English know as banter among friends and colleagues. It is loose talk about one’s achievements or other people’s actions. It is the barrage of ironic and sarcastic opinions and exaggerations you come across everywhere in the UK. In short, it is what lubricates social interaction. Without it, life becomes dull and boring as can be witnessed in countries like Germany and Switzerland, where the concept of ‘banter’ is largely absent. Trust me, this is not bullshit. I know what I am talking about.

But in most cases, bullshit is indeed harmful. And it is particularly harmful, yet also seemingly very widespread, in the workplace.

Harry Frankfurt claimed that bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Which led Ian McCarthy and his co-authors to conclude that “the more often colleagues at work are asked to comment on matters on which they know little or nothing, the more bullshit there is”.

The unfortunate reality is that in the business world, bullshit has grown exponentially even though it is mostly harmful there. After all, if you start making business decisions without regards for the truth, you are inevitably going to make significant mistakes that can lead to huge costs or foregone profits. Yet, as the below overview shows, bullshit comes in many forms in the workplace.

Different forms of misrepresentation

Source: McCarthy et al. (2020)

To tackle this waste problem, McCarthy and his colleagues propose a four-step process:

1. Comprehend workplace bullshit.

2. Recognize workplace bullshit.

3. Act against workplace bullshit.

4. Prevent workplace bullshit from occurring.

The chart below shows the key elements of the C.R.A.P. framework with some simple explanations.

The C.R.A.P. framework for dealing with workplace bullshit

Source: McCarthy et al. (2020)

I don’t want to discuss the first three steps here because we have already defined what bullshit is and the second and third steps are pretty self-evident, in my view. But let me discuss the fourth step of preventing bullshit from spreading in more detail.

As the chart shows, there are four ways to prevent the dangerous spread of bullshit.

• First, there is the emphasis on expertise and evidence. Or to put it simply: everybody is entitled to an opinion, but not every opinion is entitled to count. Opinions are not facts, anecdotes are not data and in a business environment one should always act on data and evidence, not opinions or anecdotes. Which is pretty hard because if you ask me, most ‘management science’ is not science at all, but rather a collection of anecdotes without much support in rigorous research. Books about leadership, the thirty-six habits of highly successful marketers or the diary of a product manager are entertainment. If you make business decisions based on such books you deserve everything you get, which will be mostly mediocre results if not outright failure.

  The same goes for much of finance, which is why I have embarked on writing by now more than 1,200 articles demonstrating the data and evidence for or against certain things. Yet, my success in eradicating bullshit in finance and economics has been limited. There are still way more people who believe in theories that have long been refuted than people who practice evidence-based investing.

• The second technique to prevent bullshit is critical thinking. All too often we follow our instincts and easily adopt data and evidence that confirm our preconceived notions while dismissing evidence that contradict them. It’s what Daniel Kahneman called system 1 thinking. System 2 thinking is critical thinking, but that is more deliberate and more time intensive. And who has time in the age of social media…

• The third technique is to prohibit jargon and statistical trickery (aka chart crimes). As Elon Musk rightfully pointed out in an email to all SpaceX staff one day: jargons and acronyms are inherently untrustworthy and a sign that colleagues are doing meaningless work.

• Finally, and my personal pet peeve: eliminate pointless meetings and committees. There are way too many meetings, particularly in large organisations where there are more people with bullshit jobs. If you ever get invited to a ‘coordination meeting’, don’t go. Coordination meetings are always and everywhere unnecessary. Just send the information around and let everybody digest it in their own time. Similarly, meetings where no decisions are taken. Stop wasting my time. I have written about my rules for a good meeting as backed by empirical evidence, but McCarthy and his colleagues put it much more succinctly: “The need for a meeting should be questioned unless an important decision needs to be made”.

Now please go back to your desk, find the bullshit around you, eliminate it where possible and become a crusader against business bullshit. I suggest you start cancelling all unnecessary meetings to free up your calendar for more productive work.