Knowledge Base · Critical Thinking
How do hidden assumptions hide the real problem?
An untested assumption decides what you look at, so you solve the visible symptom and miss the cause. Chapter 9 gives a service centre certain that speed meant success, and a business owner certain that price explained lost customers. In both cases testing the assumption revealed a different problem: unresolved first calls, and declining service consistency.
An assumption feels like a fact, so it stops inquiry early. The chapter's pattern repeats: a team accepts its first explanation, acts on it confidently, and only discovers the real problem when someone is willing to test the belief underneath.
The service centre was obsessed with Average Handle Time and trained reps to end calls in under three minutes. The hidden assumption was that speed equalled success. In fact First Call Resolution was low, customers called back, and costs and frustration rose. Changing the question to how customers get the right answer on the first call changed the primary metric to FCR, which jumped by 20 percentage points within three months, while handle time rose by about 45 seconds.
The small business owner was convinced customers were leaving over price and was ready to cut prices across the board. He called five customers who had left, only to listen. Only one mentioned price. Four described less well trained new staff, poor communication about schedule changes, and a lost personal touch. He invested in training and communication instead, churn returned to its normal low level within six months, and he won back two clients.
The chapter's exercise is to pick one assumption, such as "our customers always want the lowest price," and try to prove it like a detective: find the data, ask the customers, talk to the people involved. You might be surprised by what you discover.
Related questions
- What's the difference between a symptom and a root cause?
- What is root cause analysis?
- How do I run a 5 Whys analysis?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 9 (Harnessing the Power of Critical Thinking).