You probably know how the saying ends, right?: "...you make an ass out of 'u' and me." I remember hearing this phrase at a young age and thinking that assumptions must be bad. Isn't that what the saying is all about? It focuses on the fact that often people make assumptions and get themselves and others into trouble when their assumptions turn out to be wrong. The implied admonishment is: DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING!
Time-Out
But don't we make assumptions every day that range from rational to ridiculous? I assumed when I walked outside this morning that the laws of gravity would continue to apply today (as they have every day since 1978 in my own personal experience). Okay so far. But last week I assumed when I posted a comment to my classmates blog that the reason it didn't appear was that my classmate had deleted it (presumably utterly disgusted by my opinion). I came to find out this week that I only might be correct in this assumption.
Assumptions in Business
People make assumptions in business all the time. Our biases lead us in the direction of making confirmatory assumptions. For example, in marketing we often assume that our products are the best in the world and customers will come flocking. A friend of mine in Business Development told me a story about a software company owner who's company he was seeking to acquire who arrogantly compared his own company to Rolls Royce and my friend's company to Hyundai. This happens all the time. Many, many wrong assumptions were made in the past decade of American Capitalism that proved catastrophic. These guys weren't the smartest guys in the room, after all. They just made asses out of all of us.
To Assume or Not to Assume?
Assumptions are just things we take for granted in the face of either ignorance or uncertainty. I am strictly speaking uncertain that gravity will continue to apply today, but I assume it will so I can go about my day. I was ignorant to recent issues with posting comments on blogger.com until I saw a post to our group discussion board, so my assumption that my comment had been deleted seemed reasonable. Good thing I didn't confront my classmate and demand an explanation. I would have seemed...well, like an ass.
Going Forward
I think the best we can do, both in business and in life, is to try to identify our assumptions and honestly assess their validity, or likelihood of being right. Admitting that we just might be wrong is a good first step, and the proceeding with the humble admission that we might learn something new that sheds a whole different light on our path is step #2.
What do you think?
