Assumptions Are Expensive

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 Published by Brent Murton, Founder, Epik Consulting  

One of the most expensive words in operations is:

"Assumed."

I was supporting a formal installation dinner involving senior government officials and invited guests.

Months of planning had gone into the event.

Timelines were established.

Service plans were reviewed.

Teams were aligned.

The evening was ready to begin.

Earlier in the day, students were completing final culinary preparations.

Some finishing work needed to be completed on the cooking line.

The kitchen's make-up air system needed to be activated before the equipment could be used safely.

A member of the team advised that it had already been turned on.

Everyone trusted the information.

Nobody verified it.

The assumption seemed small.

It was not.

During service preparations, the fire alarm activated.

Emergency responders arrived.

Operations were disrupted.

Attention immediately shifted from delivering an exceptional experience to managing an avoidable situation.

Fortunately, the issue was resolved quickly and the event continued.

But the lesson stayed with me.

The problem was not the equipment.

The problem was the assumption.

In leadership, people often mistake standards for micromanagement.

They are not the same thing.

Micromanagement controls people.

Standards protect outcomes.

Verification is not about distrust.

Verification is about accountability.

The more important the outcome, the less room there is for assumptions.

Throughout my career, I have found that major operational failures rarely begin with major mistakes.

They usually begin with small assumptions that go unchallenged.

Someone believed.

Someone trusted.

Someone assumed.

Standards exist to prevent those moments from becoming larger problems.

Trust matters.

Verification matters more.

Because assumptions are expensive.