The "Detroit syndrome"

Choosing not to change in the face of compelling evidence to do so, is akin of self-inflicting damage or committing suicide. Typically, the accident occurs while the actors know full-well they're controlling the process, time is then running in slow motion, details are crystal-clear and yet they feel paralyzed and do strictly nothing to address a situation that is turning bad. This is in many ways what happened to our Detroit automakers that have known since 1973 that fuel efficiency would become a crucial issue, but chose to ignore it, while fighting “Cafe” standards as hard as they possibly could.

That syndrome exists in organizations, companies, governments and even families... So what is that “mental block” that stay in the way of change. Is it, as we often suspect, fear or is it also denial, disbelief, inertia, laziness or a huge ego and a sense of entitlement? I'd vote for a combination of all these factors with most of the weight placed on the latter. Now, the big challenge remains in circumventing this typical blockage and finding effective ways to move toward a goal that makes obvious sense for all stakeholders.