Shane Parrish with Rory Sutherland
Cutting costs is easy, but optimizing for raw efficiency often destroys the invisible psychological value, trust, and human connection that drive customer loyalty and business success.
The Dorman Fallacy demonstrates that substituting automated systems for human staff often eliminates invisible, high-value contributions like security and hospitality under the guise of cost reduction.
Humans naturally use subjective assessments of personal character and trust as a proxy for complex choices they lack the technical expertise to evaluate.
Public-market incentives can push companies toward short-term, spreadsheet-driven metrics that weaken long-term customer relationships, while founder-led or family-owned businesses can more easily prioritize trust and legacy.