By Bob Meyer

We all have false assumptions. Even if we don’t realize it, they exist. For instance consider these typical assumptions:

“Advertising doesn’t work, it’s a waste of money.”

“If our sales staff would just make one more call a day, everything would be great.”

“Nobody asks for the order anymore. That’s the problem.”

“Look, all our customers care about is a low price. Nothing else matters.”

“Everybody knows us.”

“We’re the best!”

“We’re the oldest.”

“The current downturn in our business is only temporary. We’ll come out just fine.”

Without even realizing it, businesses base their plans and programs on assumptions such as these—all of which are wrong.

It is these ideas that keep companies from expanding their vision, attracting creative employees and succeeding in their quest to gain new customers.

Nothing hurts a business more today than continued reliance on false assumptions. Rather than test an accepted premise or adopt a new strategy, management will ignore the all-too-obvious fact that the course is heading straight for trouble.

Only by challenging all assumptions can a company literally breathe new life into its operations.

The issue is not just staying in business. What’s really at stake is developing the ability to increase market share, finding ways to open new markets and becoming the company of choice in your field.

The job isn’t an easy one because it often demands dramatic changes in the way we think about business.

In the final analysis, the determining issue for a business is not the state of the economy. What’s important is a state of mind that freely welcomes new possibilities.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 2:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized, Entrepreneurs & Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.