More on Challenging Assumptions

Last week I asked us all to challenge all our assumptions as often as possible. While we can’t live without assumptions, letting them go unchallenged is the route to staleness.

I offered some assumptions worthy of challenge at a macro level, and then some for individuals. Of course we are all different, and our assumptions differ too. I chose questions that I have found useful for myself, and where I’ve seen friends and colleagues falter in the past.

There is a third level where I’d like to suggest some questions, in between the other two. That is the level of the company or at least of the teams or operating units that make up companies. There is a great deal of dogma flying around in companies, and it is understandable why. CEO’s and brand departments have to seek ways to simplify their environments and find messages to motivate staff wherever they are. Smart team leaders and employees should learn to quietly challenge these assertions, to avoid the risk that they might actually believe they all apply universally as axioms and come unstuck as a result.

Here are some questions for you as corporate citizen, team leader or boss.
We have very good people.
The only way is up – once our strategies have time to work things will improve
The competition is less ethical than we are
If we could only communicate better, customers would see the superiority of our products
Lower cost competitors are fighting in a different market to us
More budget, more investment, acquisitions can do only good if they can be funded
If we were larger we would be stronger
The bosses three levels up can see things we can’t and have more power
The finance department are just bean counters, a necessary evil
HR are clueless
Our costs are under control but there is waste everywhere else
Customers either buy on price or quality
Many of our customers are loyal

Each of these can do with a healthy challenge inside many companies. Some statements may survive the challenge – I’m not saying all assumptions are wrong.

So, we are supposed to challenge all of these assumptions. How, exactly?

This is difficult, as we are somehow self-programmed to avoid too much challenge. Challenge is destabilising. We are in denial about our false assumptions a lot of the time, as a coping strategy to avoid our lives collapsing into ambiguity and confusion.

That is the first lesson for how to challenge. Be very suspicious of yourself. You think you are challenging when you are not really, you are more likely just reinforcing or making some excuse.


Next lesson is to be on the lookout for unusual data points. Sometimes these will arise in crises or unusual situations. Someone you don’t know all that well might say something that takes you aback. These opportunities are golden, since they shake off the denial and reinforcement. The trick is really to use them. When such an event happens, consider it deeply for what it might mean.

An example is the wisdom shown by the woman I would normally have disregarded. Luckily the situation allowed me not just to take in what she had to say, but also to avoid the easy conclusion that she was some sort of outlier, an unusual woman of her background with wisdom. That way the assumption would have been reinforced and an opportunity for real growth lost.

Next, go deep as a project on one or two assumptions at a time. For these assumptions, try for a period to assume its exact opposite. Then look for evidence and consequence of that opposite. Some statements have multiple opposites, so play with the permutations. Stick at this for a few days or weeks.

Finally, ask for help. Perhaps “I ask for help readily” is itself an assumption ripe for challenge. That would not be unusual. Assumptions are great places to seek deep, honest feedback. As with all tougher feedback, it is important to create a good atmosphere and choose the right people, then to keep persisting until the true message emerges. This is sometimes embarrassing or painful (for both parties) and we all tend to give up too quickly.

History is full of examples where false assumptions held sway far longer than they should have. Think of Gallileo debunking the flat world. Think of the recent financial crisis. I was brought up to believe that all Russians were somehow evil. One of my favourites is about the British sense of fair play. Come again? There is a lot of this type of assumption about, and much value in challenging.