Fundamental Assumptions
May 14th, 2009Fundamental Assumptions are what I question almost everyday.
So what if it’s always been done that way, doesn’t mean we should continue.
Things change.
What I find is that going to the complete opposite yields not only greater understanding but the opportunity to tackle a problem in a way that hasn’t been attempted before.
Also no one else is doing it… which means you should at least give it a shot.
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Tags: fundamental assumptions, innovation, new ideas, opportunity
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 9:49 pm. 
May 15th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Ben, again great thoughts. Change only seems to come about when we question the status quo. Innovation happens when we create a new answer to a question.
I find simplifying an answer is often all that’s required for innovation.
May 15th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Great post Ben! Nothing makes me crazier than customers who get stuck in this mental rut. The surest path to failure is the thinking that preaches “We’ve always done it this way.”
I’ve seen US$100 million companies collapse in less than 3 years because of this kind of thinking. We are in an era where change is inevitable. That means everything must be called into question: business models, products, services, marketing, et al. Nothing is sacred anymore.
May 16th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
@Nathaniel I couldn’t agree more – strip the rubbish away from years of doing the same old stuff.
@Louis It’s like Tom Peters says, do you want to own a small company? Buy a big one and wait for it to get small. What I suspect is that globalisation is only truly coming into it’s own – where competition can actually come from afar.
A fundamental assumption I have been questioning is why are parks in parking buildings all flat? Bit random. But if you had all the car parks at say a 30 degree angle, you gain 15% more floor surface area for car parks. Sure there are other issues involved but the point is why does a car park have to be flat?
May 19th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
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