The Rashomon Effect

The Rashomon Effect is a term used to describe a situation where an event is given contradictory interpretations by different individuals involved. The effect is named after Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, in which a murder is described in four mutually contradictory ways by four witnesses.

When a new product or company fails, the Rashomon Effect is often in full swing. Each person involved—from investors and executives to employees and customers—will have their own unique and often conflicting story about what happened and why.

This is one of the key reasons why Other Peoples Data (OPD) is unreliable. It's impossible to get a single, objective account of a past event, especially a complex one like a business failure. To avoid this trap, it's essential to focus on collecting your own data rather than relying on the stories of others.