What are the assumptions?

December 1, 2009 · Filed Under Business Ideas & TIps · 1 Comment 

Question Mark

Whether we are talking politics, business, or life in general ideas are presented, statements are made and often there are underlying assumptions being made.  We need to think about what these assumptions are.

For instance the discussion at the moment about the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) makes the assumption that carbon is the evil greenhouse gas. However this is not universally held and even very authoritative scientists say that the methane may be the real villain. This is not an argument about climate change, rather it is about the assumption that carbon is the evil villain. Now I don’t know who is correct but my point is that assumptions matter. There is much debate about the ETS but the underlying assumption does not seem to be questioned.

Now this is just as applicable in a business context. We could be making decisions about whether a particular strategy or managment idea be implemented but have we considered the underlying assumptions that are implied.

So for instance if you were change the bonus structure (or implement a new bonus scheme) in a business then the assumption is that the financial bonus is the best way to motivate our team to achieve the result. This may be the case but we need to consider whether this correct.

We make assumptions about how customer or employees will behave every day. So in considering a new strategy re-examine the assumptions being made.

So what assumptions are you making in your business?

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