closely associated with decisions to fund problem loans are the ones to show the greatest difficulty in
acknowledging the subsequent risks of these loans and the likelihood of default,” Staw and colleagues
write. The study showed that when managers who originally funded the problem loans left the bank,
the new managers were significantly more likely to write the loans off. The new managers had no
personal responsibility for the problem loans, so their egos weren’t under threat; they didn’t feel
compelled to justify the original decisions as wise.
Research suggests that due to their susceptibility to ego threat, takers are more vulnerable to
escalation of commitment than givers. Imagine that you’re running an aircraft company, and you have
to decide whether or not to invest $1 million in a plane that’s invisible to radar technology. You find
out that the project is not doing well financially, and a competitor has already finished a better model.
But you’ve made significant investments: the project is 50 percent complete, and you’ve already spent
$5 million and eighteen months working on it. How likely are you to invest the extra $1 million?
In this study by Henry Moon at London Business School, before making their investment
decisions, 360 people completed a questionnaire that included giver statements such as “I keep my
promises” and taker statements such as “I try to get others to do my duties.” The takers were
significantly more likely to invest the extra $1 million than the givers. They felt responsible for an
investment that was going bad, so they committed more to protect their pride and save face. As
University of South Carolina management professors Bruce Meglino and Audrey Korsgaard explain,
“although the organization itself might be better off if the decision were abandoned, such action
would cause the decision maker to incur significant personal costs (e.g., loss of career mobility, loss
of reputation). Because escalating his or her commitment allows the decision maker to keep the
prospect of failure hidden, such behavior is personally rational” from the perspective of a taker.
The givers, on the other hand, were primarily concerned about protecting other people and the
organization, so they were more willing to admit their initial mistakes and de-escalate their
commitment. Other studies show that people actually make more accurate and creative decisions
when they’re choosing on behalf of others than themselves. When people make decisions in a self-
focused state, they’re more likely to be biased by ego threat and often agonize over trying to find a
choice that’s ideal in all possible dimensions. When people focus on others, as givers do naturally,
they’re less likely to worry about egos and miniscule details; they look at the big picture and
prioritize what matters most to others.
Armed with this understanding, it’s worth revisiting the story of Stu Inman. As a giver, although he
felt invested in the players he drafted first, he felt a stronger sense of responsibility to the team. “Stu
was a kind person, considerate of other people’s feelings,” Wayne Thompson told me. “But he never
let that influence selections. If he didn’t think a guy could play, he put his arm around him and wished
him well.” Inman wasn’t the one responsible for keeping Sam Bowie on board; Inman left the Blazers
in 1986, just two years after drafting Bowie. A taker might have continued to defend the bad decision,
but Inman admitted his error in choosing Bowie over Jordan. “All our scouts thought Bowie was the
answer to our problems, and I did, too,” Inman said, but “it was a mistake.”*
Inman didn’t escalate his commitment to LaRue Martin either. Although the Blazers kept Martin
for four seasons, Inman and his colleagues took early action in response to Martin’s poor
performance. In his rookie season, when there were clear signs that Martin was floundering, a taker
might have given him extra playing time in an effort to justify choosing him ahead of Bob McAdoo
and Julius Erving. But this wasn’t what happened. The Blazers granted the starting center position to
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