Assumptions at Work

Much of our recent national and economic history can be traced back to not challenging assumptions. The assumption that house prices would keep on rising, endless access to cheap credit, that we would always earn more and more, that our banks and planners were well regulated. However don’t feel too bad about that, clinging to assumptions is part of human nature. The following is based on an article by Michael Michalko where he explains how assumptions work.

To understand how powerful and subtle assumptions can be, try doing this exercise in your head. Add up the following numbers as quickly as you can. Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?

Our confidence in our ability to add according to the way we were taught in base ten at school encourages us to process the information in a certain way and assume an answer. If your total is 5,000, then you are wrong. 96% of people who add these simple numbers get the wrong answer. The numbers are arranged in such a way to set people up to get the wrong answer when adding using base ten. The correct answer is 4,100.Human nature is such that when we assume we know how to do something, we perform the act without much thought about the assumptions we make.

You have probably seen it in work or at home in household chores where people have particular ways of doing things. Once we think we know how something should be done, we keep doing it, then we teach others to do it the same way, and they in turn teach others until eventually you reach a point where no one remembers why something is done a certain way but we keep doing it anyway. We tend to accept whatever explanation someone with experience tells us. They have done it for years and so know best.

If you work in a job where mentoring is part of induction or continuous training ask yourself ‘why’ every now and again and see if you know the answer. Unfortunately we don’t ask that all important ‘why’ often enough and slip into the habit of not challenging assumptions.

This is well demonstrated in an experiment psychologists performed some years ago. It began with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, they hung a banana on a string with a set of stairs placed under it. Before long, a monkey went to the stairs and started to climb towards the banana. As soon as he started up the stairs, the psychologists sprayed all of the other monkeys with ice cold water. After a while, another monkey made an attempt to obtain the banana.  As soon as his foot touched the stairs, all of the other monkeys were sprayed with ice cold water. Bit of conditioned learning kicked in here. It's wasn't long before all of the other monkeys would physically prevent any monkey from climbing the stairs.

Now, the psychologists shut off the cold water, removed one monkey from the cage and replaced it with a new one. The new monkey saw the banana and started to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attacked him.  After another attempt and attack, he discovered that if he tried to climb the stairs, he would be assaulted. Next they removed another of the original five monkeys and replaced it with a new one. The newcomer went to the stairs and was attacked. The previous newcomer took part in the punishment with great gusto. In turn, they replaced a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey tried to climb the stairs, he was attacked.

The monkeys had no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they were beating any monkey that tried. After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys had ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approached the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been around here. 

We do the same in the workplace. How many times have you heard "It has always been done this way” or “Don't mess with what works." Instead of challenging these assumptions, many of us, like the monkeys, simply keep reproducing what has been done before. It's the easiest thing to do. Just like adding using base ten.

This also sheds some light on why change is sometimes very difficult, we are making assumptions even when we don’t realise it and breaking that cycle of behavior is difficult both personally and at a social / corporate level. It may even explain why for years we assumed the church, politicians were to be trusted, ‘sure we’ve always trusted them’. Next time you notice yourself making an assumption, do yourself a favor and challenge it. Don’t be a monkey, your reward could be that dangling banana everyone else said you couldn’t have.