Everyone does it.
Everyone allows their biases into their thought processes. Both the conscious and unconscious biases.
It’s human nature.
Don’t beat yourself up over it.
Just remember… You are your assumptions.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. At least not forever and for everything. You can take a proactive role in seeking ways to evaluate, understand, and perhaps change your assumptions.
Why Bother?
Because your career may depend on it. Bias is inherent in everything we do. Being conscious of our biases is an important step in understanding ourselves and how we can be more productive, more engaged, and more effective in everything we do.
In the Michael Lewis book “The Undoing Project” which is about the work Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky did in the 1970’s they identify the underlying thinking and processes that allow for cognitive basis and common human errors in thinking that arise from heuristics and biases.
I’m not going to re-hash the whole book here. You should take the time to read it (or if you wait a little while it will be a movie soon).
My key takeaway from the book was the relationship between Amos and Danny (as they were referred to numerous times in the book) and how they kept pushing each other to test their assumptions. They did some groundbreaking work on the way the human mind words and how our biases can trick us into making decisions that may not be in our best interests.
Remember, You Are Your Assumptions.
But, you also have some ability to adjust them. Perhaps not permanently, but enough to think about challenges in new and different ways.
This could be the spark of the next great innovation. Even if it’s not a world changing innovation it might be just one more way for you to stand out in your career.
Simply put… you should check your assumptions often. Your work will be better for it.
