The other night I watched a debate.
Then I made the mistake of opening Facebook.

Within minutes, one concept started rattling around in my head: Groupthink.

As a coach, I see this play out constantly with entrepreneurs and professionals. One of the biggest obstacles to growth isn’t lack of intelligence, resources, or opportunity.

It’s allowing the group you identify with to think on your behalf.

That group might be defined by:

• Politics

• Religion

• Age

• Education

• Culture

• Industry

• Job title

• Gender

When people adopt the opinions of their group without questioning them, they stop thinking independently. And when independent thinking stops, growth usually stops with it.

Interestingly, if you study many of the world’s most successful individuals—people like Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Kroc, Colonel Harland Sanders, Judi Dench, Morgan Freeman, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Roger Federer—you’ll notice something important:

They don’t outsource their thinking to the crowd.

They question.
They observe.
They form their own conclusions.

Why Groupthink Thrives Online

Social media has created a perfect environment for groupthink.

A controversial post can easily attract hundreds of comments because, in the world of algorithms:

Enragement equals engagement.

The more emotionally reactive the content is, the more attention it gets.

That’s why statements that sound wise or powerful often spread quickly—even when they’re overly simplistic or flat-out wrong.

You’ve probably heard phrases like:

• “Money is the root of all evil.”

• “Rich people have big libraries and poor people have big TVs.”

• “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

• “Go with your gut.”

• “Follow your passion and you’ll be successful.”

These statements get repeated so often that people stop questioning them. They just nod along.

But if you pause and think critically, many of them don’t hold up very well in the real world.

The Business Cost of Not Thinking for Yourself

For entrepreneurs and leaders, groupthink is more than a social media problem.

It’s a decision-making problem.

If your opinions, strategies, and beliefs are shaped primarily by the loudest voices around you—your industry, your peers, or your social feeds—you’ll rarely create anything original.

And originality is where the biggest opportunities live.

Independent thinkers tend to ask questions like:

• Is this actually true?

• What evidence supports this idea?

• What if the opposite were true?

• What does the data say—not just the crowd?

These questions slow things down. But they also lead to better decisions.

The Leadership Skill Most People Avoid

Forming your own opinion takes work.

It requires research.
It requires critical thinking.
It sometimes requires standing apart from the crowd.

And that’s uncomfortable.

Which is why most people default to the easier option: agree with the group.

But if you want to lead—whether in business, investing, or life—you can’t rely on borrowed opinions.

You have to do the thinking yourself.

Because the moment you stop thinking independently…

You start living—and leading—on autopilot.