Hello everyone!
I am looking for a story or an anecdote which illustrates the power of Assumptions. It is for a training course in planning.
The story should be fun and not necessarily related to planning. Any ideas???
Roda

2 words: BRAIN TEASERS
(or riddles if you prefer)

They are fun and if you choose properly, you can drive home the point on assumptions.

For example, I've used the following short riddle about a doctor in many of my sales training classes:

A man and his son are driving in a car one day, when they get into a fatal accident. The man is killed instantly. The boy is knocked unconscious, but he is still alive. He is rushed to hospital, and will need immediate surgery. The doctor enters the emergency room, looks at the boy, and says...

"I can't operate on this boy, he is my son."

So, the question is, how is this possible?

The answer is simple: the doctor is the boy's mother.

This riddle has been told for a long time, to illustrate how common gender stereotypes are in our society but can be used to illustrate the assumptions that we make as well.

Here is another short one for you that will work best if shown to your participants (as opposed to being delivered verbally):
Why are 2007 pennies worth more than 2006 pennies?
Because you have 1 more penny!

I'm sure you can find many many more that work on the basis of assumptions.

Have Fun!

Owen Holt
Communications and Training Consultant
Dell Corporate Finance / Global Finance Systems
Owen_Holt@DELL.com

May thanks Owen. These riddles are great. I would still like to find a story where the consequences of wrrong assumptions made by someone in the story can be disastrous and costly.
Roda

Why not take advantage of the life experience of your participants and ask them to team up and share stories of assumptions gone awry? Start with the riddle Owen offered as an example, and then have them discuss their own experiences and/or observations in pairs or small groups. Then, as a whole group, discuss takeaways -- what did you learn from hearing that person's experience?

Actually, the real question is -- do you really believe that people are unaware of how assumptions can really mess things up?

I would consider putting a more positive spin on this. Instead of "don't make assumptions" concentrate on the DO list. I think people know all too well what incorrect assumptions can do to a situation.

I have many free 'lateral thinking' downloads on my site that will help you here. Follow the link below and click on 'free resources'. They are all laid out in Word format. There are also many other good training games and ideas.