Groupthink: How Smart People in Cohesive Groups Make Catastrophically Bad Decisions

After the Bay of Pigs disaster, John F. Kennedy asked his advisors: 'How could I have been so stupid?' The plan was transparently flawed. Every advisor in the room had doubts. None spoke. Irving Janis studied the Kennedy tapes and identified a pattern: the same dynamics that make groups feel unified and confident also systematically suppress the dissent, doubt, and critical analysis that good decisions require.