MindLab – 1
I’ve been away from this for a while but have decided to return in a more focused manner. My intent is to issue a weekly thinking exercise to help anyone interested in improving their critical and strategic thinking skills. I hope you find these comments and exercises helpful.
Assumptions Gone Bad: Assumptions are the foundation of personal and business strategy. Sears assumed they understood the needs and wants of middle-class America. True for about a century; wrong for the past fifteen years or so. Martgage and financial service companies assumed that the price of a house would always go up. Right for fifty years — bad assumption starting around 2007. Kodak assumed that film would gradually decline and that they had time to shift to a digital world. Oops.
Look at the assumptions you have been using in your personal and professional life. Are any of them “going soft” on you? Do you have a big decision coming up? Document your assumptions, vet them with people you trust, and review them every six months or so. Watch for “assumption erosion.” It’s a killer.
Date: November 5th, 2011 @ 10:34
Categories: critical thinking, Prepared Mind
