One of the main reasons for the tragedy was that the policemen in charge of crowd control assumed that the problem they were facing was one [...]]]> This week has seen the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans died in a terrible crush at the Hillsborough football stadium in Sheffield.

One of the main reasons for the tragedy was that the policemen in charge of crowd control assumed that the problem they were facing was one of hooliganism rather than a stampede.  Their training and prior experience conditioned them to expect crowd unrest and to contain it.  These ingrained assumptions prevented them from taking decisive action that would have saved many lives.

It is evidence on a tragic scale of the dangers of making assumptions.  Yet we are all conditioned to make assumptions about situations.  These assumptions are based on previous happenings and they are often misleading and prevent us from seeing what is really going on.  The innovative leader constantly guards against assumptions and challenges them by asking basic questions. 

Here is an article with specific advice and business examples regarding how to confront assumptions.

Paul Sloane