When Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was a young man, it seemed obvious to everyone that the Earth was at the center of the universe, because every night the celestial bodies could be seen revolving around our planet. Until Copernicus came along, nobody questioned such a geocentric worldview. But this persistent astronomer queried all such supposedly “proven” assumptions and constructed a worldview in which the sun, not the Earth, occupied center stage. In this heliocentric worldview, he explained the complex movements of the planets by postulating that they moved in small circles called epicycles along larger circles, called deferents, with the sun not lying at the exact center of the Copernican system, but also completing an orbit. It was only later on that the astronomer Johannes Kepler found out that planets’ orbits are elliptical, not nested circles. And how did Kepler reach that conclusion? Again, by questioning the assumptions made in his day.
So what can you, as a manager, learn from Copernicus? Copernicus had the same data as everybody else and saw and heard the same things as his peers. Yet he reached totally different conclusions because he interpreted the data totally differently. He queried assumptions that everyone else considered to be beyond discussion. And that is precisely what you ought to do, too. Any successful company makes—and needs to make—assumptions about how business works.
Also when dealing with opportunities and problems, any decision you make will be based on assumptions. My advice is not to make life too easy for yourself by too swiftly accepting apparently obvious assumptions, answers, or solutions. Question them. Instead of expecting others to immediately agree with your position or opinion, try to make sure that people can follow your line of argument and understand your line of thinking. This may occasionally make life somewhat uncomfortable for your employees, colleagues, and bosses, but you will certainly end up with better solutions—and that will earn you respect.
Think back to Copernicus again. He had no problem understanding the geocentric worldview, but he did not share it, so he developed an alternative. In 1616, the Catholic Church banned Copernicanism, alleging that it contradicted the Bible. Of course, whether the ban was imposed because the Church was unable to follow the line of thinking behind the Copernican model or merely unwilling to do so is another question entirely.
Make a point of questioning everything.
In connection with which current problem facing you should you reconsider supposedly “established” facts?