Too often we fall prey to comfortable thought patterns without analyzing their effectiveness. When this happens, we may not get the desired results because we haven’t asked the right or enough questions to arrive at the best answer to a problem.

Researchers and management specialists have identified more than 100 different barriers to effective critical thinking, but there are eight obstacles that all executives must impress in their memory. To help remember these eight, here’s an acronym for them: CAT MAGIC.

1. Confirmation bias –

bending evidence to fit one’s beliefs. How many times do executives look for information that supports their point of view instead of looking for evidence that is “neutral” individually or as a group? “The best way to combat this natural temptation of confirmation bias is to actively seek out information that refutes your beliefs.

2. Attribution bias (or selfishness) –

the belief that good things happen to us due to internal factors and bad things happen to us due to external factors, while the opposite is true with others. This bias causes us to pigeonhole the actions of others, especially bad behavior, as strictly the fault of the individual and not of the circumstances.

3. Relying on testimonial evidence –

the fallacy of believing information from another person, even if there is no evidence to support your statements. Studies have consistently shown that people are more likely to buy something on the recommendation of others than on the force of advertising or some other marketing effort, yet how many of those same people actually know the veracity of those recommendations?

4. Memory lapses –

While this barrier appears on the surface to be self-explanatory (everyone has memory gaps), its danger lies in the common human trait of filling memory gaps with information that may or may not be true. In other words, we make things up as we go along, which often prevents us from arriving at more fact-based decisions.

5. Accept authority without question –

a behavior documented by researcher Stanley Milgram’s famous experiments in which many people were willing to administer increasingly powerful electric shocks to other people on the orders of an authority figure, even though they weren’t sure if it was the right thing to do. This failure of critical thinking continues to manifest itself today in the blind acceptance of people with questionable degrees or experience.

6. Generalize from very few observations –

a common practice in consumer marketing where a small group of people in a focus group determine the direction of multi-million dollar ad campaigns, even though the opinions of those people cannot be projected to a larger population. The same thing happens when a small group of executives or board members discuss an issue. We must constantly resist the temptation to take these informational shortcuts. For example, one way to counter the built-in bias of small groups is to seek the unvarnished opinion of employees further down the organization chart.

7. Ignorance and not admit it –

recounts that it leads to fabricated information and wild speculation. No one wants to appear foolish, so instead of admitting their lack of knowledge, a person can pretend and then explain the falsehood in a way that makes it sound like the truth. Beware of those who are quick with answers or slow to admit they don’t know something.

8. Coincidence (or the Law of Truly Large Numbers) –

the mistaken belief that data has causality when, in fact, it is the result of pure coincidence or the law of large numbers. Any large block of data will show connections, but those connections probably have no other meaning. For example, some hospital CEOs are likely to have red hair, but no other link can be made between being a CEO and red hair. However, we often attach causal links to events or dates where links do not exist.

Like any other worthwhile behavior in life, good critical thinking is about turning ideas into habitual behavior. You must first recognize that your critical thinking skills may not be up to par, and then you must improve them. Only when you start applying those new skills over and over again to a variety of circumstances will the skills stick and produce results. Critical thinking must become a force of habit for senior leaders, just like their breathing. It must become part of your leadership core.