Confirmation bias is to leverage and promote certain information to confirm your beliefs and hypotheses while paying less attention to contradictory information. In many cases ambiguous, unfounded or opinionated data is often leveraged despite clear evidence that contradicts your position.

This bias has been shown to lead to an overconfidence in one’s own beliefs and a resulting polarization of sides.

As information becomes readily accessible on the internet, we are coincidentally witnessing polarizing positions, outcomes and behaviours in the world on important topics like racial and gender discrimination, political alignment, and COVID-19, along with a multitude of other topics.

This seems to create disharmony and often serves to fuel the fire for controversy and clash.

To be clear I am not an expert in data usage and psychology so I cannot claim there is a direct cause and effect between the Internet and confirmation bias. However, I have noticed the pattern and I am sharing this hypothesis with you. To claim it is fact would be hypocritical.

Experts Abound

I believe that confirmation bias is creating a dangerous situation where more and more people are claiming to be “experts” because they have either published something or can find information that supports their beliefs.

Ready access to information further encourages each and every one of us to become an expert by seeking out data (confirmed or not) and drawing our own conclusions, which is dangerous as it serves to create yet another self-fulfilling cycle.

Meanwhile, a good Agile coach will share a reflection of what they are observing, especially if they notice biases in the people and organizations they work with. Ironically some of us coaches are noticing an increase in confirmation bias within our own domain.

Simply stated, we are noticing more and more people successfully passing themselves off as Agile experts simply because they write a number of articles that rehash what others have already said, or that can be supported by other non-experts. They then get hired which fuels the next round.

In my opinion, writing an article or finding data to support your position does not make you an expert. Becoming an expert takes a lot of study, a lot of patience, a lot of knowledge gathering, and a lot of experience dealing with real-world situations, hard facts and not conjecture.

An expert never assumes they are right and always seeks to learn more, especially if it contradicts their beliefs or hypotheses. This is the unmistakable sign of a continuous learning mindset.

Only through these things can you hope to become an expert, and only then should others leverage your facts to help them make decisions.

Ironically I find myself writing an article to explain this. This has caused me to constantly rethink my approach for this topic and to be openly transparent that I do not believe I am an expert in bias. I am only familiar with it on a professional level as it is one of the many responsibilities of a coach to identify, reflect on, and call out bias if they observe it.

What Can You Do?

In my opinion the core challenge is it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the experts and reliable, factual data from the noise and misdirection. Unfortunately there’s no formula to help, but here are a few suggestions you can try.

Acknowledge that systemic bias and prejudices exist and that you are likely doing them, often without even realizing it.

Educate yourself to be particularly aware of cognitive bias, and work very hard to ensure you are not doing it. Be self-critical, question and re-question your own motives and beliefs often and every day, always acknowledge that you may be in the wrong, and work keep an open mind to alternative views and facts.

Don’t take anything at face value. Find the facts and data supporting the claim. Ask for proof and the source. Reflect on motives for the data and information and attempt to discover if there are reasons why sharing the information might benefit the source. Toss out anything that looks or smells like it is suspicious, especially if it supports your own beliefs and hypotheses.

For Full Transparency

I am writing this article because it is part of an expectation from the organization I work for, because I want to draw attention to biases and prejudices in the hope we can create a more balanced and harmonious world, and because I am tired of self-proclaimed Agile experts hypocritically taking advantage of the very thing they should be calling out, thereby cheapening my career path.

But then again, remember these are my opinions so weigh them accordingly.

To conclude, here is a good example of confirmation bias. If you are to use this article as evidence that the Internet is causing confirmation bias and/or that it is causing the emergence of bad Agile coaches. That would indeed be ironic.

If you find this useful, please consider contributing with our
“Value for Value” model.

Kanban System Design® (KMPI)

13 to 14 JUN 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin
C$1895.00 Register Now
- Improve Knowledge Work Productivity -

This 2-day workshop - Kanban System Design (KSD) - also known as 'Kanban for Real Agility®' - provides you with the fundamentals of the Kanban Method® . It is designed specifically for leaders starting their organization on the gentler path towards Real Agility™. This learning event is ideal for you if you are responsible for the delivery of a service. Learn the concepts of flow, pull, classes of service, and learn to deal with interruptions and multi-tasking. Learn the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK) through a multi-step interactive case study review.

This KSD course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 1 - KMP I), is the first of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The KSD is the prerequisite to the Kanban Systems Improvement course (KSI). By completing both this course (KSD) and the KSI, participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

Key Benefits
- Participate in a Kanban simulation for immersive learning
- Design your service's Kanban board with guidance from our Kanban experts
- Start your Kanban adoption and in evolving your system
- Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
- Obtain your Kanban University® KSD certificate
- Completion of this and the KSI class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
- Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
- We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
- Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

EXCLUSIVE: Free "Kanban for Managers" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!

Download the recommended reading by "David J. Anderson and Andy Carmichael":
Essential Kanban Condensed

Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
Read More

Location:

Online

Date:

Tue 13-Jun-2023
Wed 14-Jun-2023

Time:

09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)
Trainer:
David Vicentin

Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
About Trainer

David Vicentin Senior Agile/Lean Consultant

David Vicentin has delivered Operational Excellence and Agile implementation for the past 20 years as a management consultant. His clients come from diverse industries in North America, South America and Europe.

Working at different organizational levels from operatives to senior management, his focus is to achieve sustainably higher results. David has trained, mentored and coached thousands of people for many businesses, with a focus on increasing personal performance for coaches and improving their business environment, overall.

As an Industrial Engineer, Master in Economics and Finance and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, his ability to evolve people results in service delivery which increases value, reduces cost and improves both quality and productivity for his clients.

Facilitator of more than 250 projects using DMAIC, DMADV, RCA, Kaizen, FMEA and SCRUM, he focuses on cost reduction, quality and productivity improvements, cash flow improvement and customer satisfaction.

High profile clients include Scotiabank, Honda, Volkswagen, Saint Gobain, Nortel Networks, Sherwin Williams, Coca-Cola, SITA, HSBC, Four Seasons and Rolls Royce. David has lead projects and workshops in materials/logistics, manufacturing, purchases, finance, sales, R&D and information technology areas.

David Vicentin has delivered Operational Excellence and Agile implementation for the past 20 years as a management consultant. His clients come from diverse industries in North America, South America and Europe.

Working at different organizational levels from staff to senior management, his focus is to achieve sustainably higher results. David has trained, mentored and coached thousands of people for many businesses, with a focus on increasing performance and improving business results. David is a consultant, coach, facilitator, and trainer at all organizational levels.

As an Industrial Engineer, Master in Economics and Finance and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, his ability to evolve people results in service delivery which increases value, reduces cost and improves both quality and productivity for his clients.

Facilitator of more than 250 projects using DMAIC, DMADV, RCA, Kaizen, FMEA and SCRUM, he focuses on cost reduction, quality and productivity improvements, cash flow improvement and customer satisfaction.

Recently, David has increased his focus on business results with coaching and training on design thinking, lean startup, marketing, sales, product management and business strategy.

David has lead projects and workshops in marketing, materials/logistics, manufacturing, purchases, finance, sales, R&D and information technology areas. David specializes in Productivity Techniques, Management Systems and, Finance focused to increase business results.

David coordinates and leads projects in many countries as he is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

David joined BERTEIG in July 2017.

Select Client List:

Financial Services: HSBC, Mastercard, Scotiabank, Great West Life, Concentra, BMO

Automotive: Honda, Volkswagon, Rolls Royce, Trader.ca, Alberta Motor Association (AMA)

Healthcare: Sick Kids Foundation, Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

Other: Coca-Cola, LoyaltyOne, SITA, HOOPP

Certifications and Accreditations:

Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT), Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP), Kanban Management Professional (KMP)

Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM), Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO), Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Product Owner (CSPO)

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (LSSMBB), Design Thinking Trainer (DTT)

Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), ICAgile Certified Trainer

BSc. Production Engineering (POLI-USP), Master in Finance and Economics (Fundacao Getulio Vargas – FGV)

Experience Summary:

Over 20 years’ experience in designing and delivering training, coaching, consulting and mentoring on business topics, Lean Six Sigma and Agile Methods.

Testimonials:

“Derived from the fact that our organization has approximately 100,000 employees, it is an organization with a lot of structure, processes, protocols, therefore the projects carried out have long and bureaucratic project flows, however, due to needs and priorities we challenge ourselves to be able to perform a disruptive technological tool, with the objective that thousands of our employees are empowered and have a virtual library of contents and information that will help them to fulfill their roles.
With this Agile accompaniment we have broken paradigms, in this specific project, Agile techniques (Scrum) has given us the necessary support to convince employees that change of mentality, mainly with a collaboration approach, incremental deliveries, better way in the form of negotiation with internal clients, external (suppliers) and the most important thing as we do from day 1 more tangible results.
Thanks to Coach David we have found the right paths in the way that intervenes and guides us promptly in the project.” (translated from Spanish) – Andrés L Nava, Talent Development Leader, Coca-Cola
Kanban System Design® (KMPI)

26 to 27 SEP 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin
Early-bird Discount! C$1795.00 C$1525.75 Until 12-Sep Register Now
- Improve Knowledge Work Productivity -

This 2-day workshop - Kanban System Design (KSD) - also known as 'Kanban for Real Agility®' - provides you with the fundamentals of the Kanban Method® . It is designed specifically for leaders starting their organization on the gentler path towards Real Agility™. This learning event is ideal for you if you are responsible for the delivery of a service. Learn the concepts of flow, pull, classes of service, and learn to deal with interruptions and multi-tasking. Learn the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK) through a multi-step interactive case study review.

This KSD course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 1 - KMP I), is the first of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The KSD is the prerequisite to the Kanban Systems Improvement course (KSI). By completing both this course (KSD) and the KSI, participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

Key Benefits
- Participate in a Kanban simulation for immersive learning
- Design your service's Kanban board with guidance from our Kanban experts
- Start your Kanban adoption and in evolving your system
- Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
- Obtain your Kanban University® KSD certificate
- Completion of this and the KSI class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
- Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
- We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
- Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

EXCLUSIVE: Free "Kanban for Managers" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!

Download the recommended reading by "David J. Anderson and Andy Carmichael":
Essential Kanban Condensed

Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
Read More

Location:

Online

Date:

Tue 26-Sep-2023
Wed 27-Sep-2023

Time:

09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)
Trainer:
David Vicentin

Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
About Trainer

David Vicentin Senior Agile/Lean Consultant

David Vicentin has delivered Operational Excellence and Agile implementation for the past 20 years as a management consultant. His clients come from diverse industries in North America, South America and Europe.

Working at different organizational levels from operatives to senior management, his focus is to achieve sustainably higher results. David has trained, mentored and coached thousands of people for many businesses, with a focus on increasing personal performance for coaches and improving their business environment, overall.

As an Industrial Engineer, Master in Economics and Finance and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, his ability to evolve people results in service delivery which increases value, reduces cost and improves both quality and productivity for his clients.

Facilitator of more than 250 projects using DMAIC, DMADV, RCA, Kaizen, FMEA and SCRUM, he focuses on cost reduction, quality and productivity improvements, cash flow improvement and customer satisfaction.

High profile clients include Scotiabank, Honda, Volkswagen, Saint Gobain, Nortel Networks, Sherwin Williams, Coca-Cola, SITA, HSBC, Four Seasons and Rolls Royce. David has lead projects and workshops in materials/logistics, manufacturing, purchases, finance, sales, R&D and information technology areas.

David Vicentin has delivered Operational Excellence and Agile implementation for the past 20 years as a management consultant. His clients come from diverse industries in North America, South America and Europe.

Working at different organizational levels from staff to senior management, his focus is to achieve sustainably higher results. David has trained, mentored and coached thousands of people for many businesses, with a focus on increasing performance and improving business results. David is a consultant, coach, facilitator, and trainer at all organizational levels.

As an Industrial Engineer, Master in Economics and Finance and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, his ability to evolve people results in service delivery which increases value, reduces cost and improves both quality and productivity for his clients.

Facilitator of more than 250 projects using DMAIC, DMADV, RCA, Kaizen, FMEA and SCRUM, he focuses on cost reduction, quality and productivity improvements, cash flow improvement and customer satisfaction.

Recently, David has increased his focus on business results with coaching and training on design thinking, lean startup, marketing, sales, product management and business strategy.

David has lead projects and workshops in marketing, materials/logistics, manufacturing, purchases, finance, sales, R&D and information technology areas. David specializes in Productivity Techniques, Management Systems and, Finance focused to increase business results.

David coordinates and leads projects in many countries as he is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

David joined BERTEIG in July 2017.

Select Client List:

Financial Services: HSBC, Mastercard, Scotiabank, Great West Life, Concentra, BMO

Automotive: Honda, Volkswagon, Rolls Royce, Trader.ca, Alberta Motor Association (AMA)

Healthcare: Sick Kids Foundation, Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

Other: Coca-Cola, LoyaltyOne, SITA, HOOPP

Certifications and Accreditations:

Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT), Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP), Kanban Management Professional (KMP)

Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM), Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO), Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Product Owner (CSPO)

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (LSSMBB), Design Thinking Trainer (DTT)

Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), ICAgile Certified Trainer

BSc. Production Engineering (POLI-USP), Master in Finance and Economics (Fundacao Getulio Vargas – FGV)

Experience Summary:

Over 20 years’ experience in designing and delivering training, coaching, consulting and mentoring on business topics, Lean Six Sigma and Agile Methods.

Testimonials:

“Derived from the fact that our organization has approximately 100,000 employees, it is an organization with a lot of structure, processes, protocols, therefore the projects carried out have long and bureaucratic project flows, however, due to needs and priorities we challenge ourselves to be able to perform a disruptive technological tool, with the objective that thousands of our employees are empowered and have a virtual library of contents and information that will help them to fulfill their roles.
With this Agile accompaniment we have broken paradigms, in this specific project, Agile techniques (Scrum) has given us the necessary support to convince employees that change of mentality, mainly with a collaboration approach, incremental deliveries, better way in the form of negotiation with internal clients, external (suppliers) and the most important thing as we do from day 1 more tangible results.
Thanks to Coach David we have found the right paths in the way that intervenes and guides us promptly in the project.” (translated from Spanish) – Andrés L Nava, Talent Development Leader, Coca-Cola
Kanban System Design® (KMPI)

12 to 13 DEC 2023 (2 days) - Starting Tuesday - Online - David Vicentin
Early-bird Discount! C$1795.00 C$1525.75 Until 28-Nov Register Now
- Improve Knowledge Work Productivity -

This 2-day workshop - Kanban System Design (KSD) - also known as 'Kanban for Real Agility®' - provides you with the fundamentals of the Kanban Method® . It is designed specifically for leaders starting their organization on the gentler path towards Real Agility™. This learning event is ideal for you if you are responsible for the delivery of a service. Learn the concepts of flow, pull, classes of service, and learn to deal with interruptions and multi-tasking. Learn the Systems Thinking Approach To Implementing Kanban (STATIK) through a multi-step interactive case study review.

This KSD course, (formerly known as Kanban Management Professional 1 - KMP I), is the first of two courses towards the Kanban Management Professional (KMP) credential. The KSD is the prerequisite to the Kanban Systems Improvement course (KSI). By completing both this course (KSD) and the KSI, participants can earn their KMP credential with Kanban University®.

Key Benefits
- Participate in a Kanban simulation for immersive learning
- Design your service's Kanban board with guidance from our Kanban experts
- Start your Kanban adoption and in evolving your system
- Earn 16 PDUs | 16 SEUs
- Obtain your Kanban University® KSD certificate
- Completion of this and the KSI class will earn you the Kanban University® KMP credential
- Get a profile listing on the Kanban University® alumni page
- We are a Registered Education Provider with Kanban University® and PMI®
- Taught by and overseen by Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT's)

EXCLUSIVE: Free "Kanban for Managers" e-book written by BERTEIG consultants!

Download the recommended reading by "David J. Anderson and Andy Carmichael":
Essential Kanban Condensed

Please register using a corporate email address, for corporate loyalty program discounts.
Read More

Location:

Online

Date:

Tue 12-Dec-2023
Wed 13-Dec-2023

Time:

09:00 AM to 05:00 PM (EST)
Trainer:
David Vicentin

Senior Agile/Lean Consultant
About Trainer

David Vicentin Senior Agile/Lean Consultant

David Vicentin has delivered Operational Excellence and Agile implementation for the past 20 years as a management consultant. His clients come from diverse industries in North America, South America and Europe.

Working at different organizational levels from operatives to senior management, his focus is to achieve sustainably higher results. David has trained, mentored and coached thousands of people for many businesses, with a focus on increasing personal performance for coaches and improving their business environment, overall.

As an Industrial Engineer, Master in Economics and Finance and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, his ability to evolve people results in service delivery which increases value, reduces cost and improves both quality and productivity for his clients.

Facilitator of more than 250 projects using DMAIC, DMADV, RCA, Kaizen, FMEA and SCRUM, he focuses on cost reduction, quality and productivity improvements, cash flow improvement and customer satisfaction.

High profile clients include Scotiabank, Honda, Volkswagen, Saint Gobain, Nortel Networks, Sherwin Williams, Coca-Cola, SITA, HSBC, Four Seasons and Rolls Royce. David has lead projects and workshops in materials/logistics, manufacturing, purchases, finance, sales, R&D and information technology areas.

David Vicentin has delivered Operational Excellence and Agile implementation for the past 20 years as a management consultant. His clients come from diverse industries in North America, South America and Europe.

Working at different organizational levels from staff to senior management, his focus is to achieve sustainably higher results. David has trained, mentored and coached thousands of people for many businesses, with a focus on increasing performance and improving business results. David is a consultant, coach, facilitator, and trainer at all organizational levels.

As an Industrial Engineer, Master in Economics and Finance and Master Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, his ability to evolve people results in service delivery which increases value, reduces cost and improves both quality and productivity for his clients.

Facilitator of more than 250 projects using DMAIC, DMADV, RCA, Kaizen, FMEA and SCRUM, he focuses on cost reduction, quality and productivity improvements, cash flow improvement and customer satisfaction.

Recently, David has increased his focus on business results with coaching and training on design thinking, lean startup, marketing, sales, product management and business strategy.

David has lead projects and workshops in marketing, materials/logistics, manufacturing, purchases, finance, sales, R&D and information technology areas. David specializes in Productivity Techniques, Management Systems and, Finance focused to increase business results.

David coordinates and leads projects in many countries as he is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

David joined BERTEIG in July 2017.

Select Client List:

Financial Services: HSBC, Mastercard, Scotiabank, Great West Life, Concentra, BMO

Automotive: Honda, Volkswagon, Rolls Royce, Trader.ca, Alberta Motor Association (AMA)

Healthcare: Sick Kids Foundation, Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

Other: Coca-Cola, LoyaltyOne, SITA, HOOPP

Certifications and Accreditations:

Accredited Kanban Trainer (AKT), Team Kanban Practitioner (TKP), Kanban Management Professional (KMP)

Certified Scrum Professional (CSP-SM), Advanced Certified Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO), Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Product Owner (CSPO)

Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (LSSMBB), Design Thinking Trainer (DTT)

Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), ICAgile Certified Trainer

BSc. Production Engineering (POLI-USP), Master in Finance and Economics (Fundacao Getulio Vargas – FGV)

Experience Summary:

Over 20 years’ experience in designing and delivering training, coaching, consulting and mentoring on business topics, Lean Six Sigma and Agile Methods.

Testimonials:

“Derived from the fact that our organization has approximately 100,000 employees, it is an organization with a lot of structure, processes, protocols, therefore the projects carried out have long and bureaucratic project flows, however, due to needs and priorities we challenge ourselves to be able to perform a disruptive technological tool, with the objective that thousands of our employees are empowered and have a virtual library of contents and information that will help them to fulfill their roles.
With this Agile accompaniment we have broken paradigms, in this specific project, Agile techniques (Scrum) has given us the necessary support to convince employees that change of mentality, mainly with a collaboration approach, incremental deliveries, better way in the form of negotiation with internal clients, external (suppliers) and the most important thing as we do from day 1 more tangible results.
Thanks to Coach David we have found the right paths in the way that intervenes and guides us promptly in the project.” (translated from Spanish) – Andrés L Nava, Talent Development Leader, Coca-Cola

Berteig is a Canadian education development and delivery firm specializing in helping your company develop knowledge, motivation and skills leading to measurable improvements in quality, speed and happiness.

The 'Everybody is an Expert' Fallacy (Confirmation Bias is Real)

Jerry Doucett

Experts Abound

What Can You Do?

For Full Transparency

If you find this useful, please consider contributing with our
“Value for Value” model.

Location:

Date:

Time:

Trainer:

Location:

Date:

Time:

Trainer:

Location:

Date:

Time:

Trainer:

Jerry Doucett

Berteig Consulting

About Us

Find us on

NEWSLETTER

HEADQUARTERS

Contact Us

The 'Everybody is an Expert' Fallacy (Confirmation Bias is Real)

Jerry Doucett

Experts Abound

What Can You Do?

For Full Transparency

If you find this useful, please consider contributing with our “Value for Value” model.

Location:

Date:

Time:

Trainer:

David Vicentin Senior Agile/Lean Consultant

Location:

Date:

Time:

Trainer:

David Vicentin Senior Agile/Lean Consultant

Location:

Date:

Time:

Trainer:

David Vicentin Senior Agile/Lean Consultant

Jerry Doucett

Berteig Consulting

Agile Consulting and Coaching - An Exploration

Leadership: How to Lead Like a Boss!

About Us

Find us on

NEWSLETTER

HEADQUARTERS

Contact Us

If you find this useful, please consider contributing with our
“Value for Value” model.