Michael's Blog: When Assumptions Get in the Way

Michael's Blog: When Assumptions Get in the Way
I found a way to really annoy a colleague. It was many decades ago and it was purely unintentional, but what I did was annoying to him and sent a message that I did not intend. We were a department of 2 in a larger office environment. In the dark days of winter, when I arrived first, I'd turn on the lights in both our offices. I was endeavouring to be courteous. My colleague, as it turned out, thought I was being passive-aggressive suggesting superiority for arriving first. We had a good laugh when weeks later somehow this came up in conversation.

Welcome to 2026! Let's talk about communication.

There are so many potential challenges - here are just a few examples.
  • Listening to understand being too often being subverted by listening to argue or defend.
  • Unspoken understandings being misconstrued,
  • Reading negative intentions (that weren't intended) between the lines in written messages.
These certainly happen on the macro international level and they can happen in workplaces and at home. So lets be mindful of that. Did we "hear" a message or action, or read an email in a manner with the doer or sender's intent? If we have concerns, be bold enough, dare I say polite enough, to clarify rather than assume the intentions. As my former colleague said when we had a chuckle over our situation, "When you assume- it makes an ass about u and me"

Here are some quotes about assumptions (hopefully attributed correctly):
  • "Your assumptions are the windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile or the light won't come in." - Alan Alda
  • "Assumptions are the termites of relationships." - Henry Winkler
  • “Don’t make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
  • “We all make assumptions about each other’s motives, but those assumptions are usually wrong.” – Shonda Rhimes
  • “Assumptions are the mother of all mistakes.” – Eugene Lewis Fordsworthe
  • “Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, ‘What else could this mean?’” – Shannon L. Alder
  • "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F Kennedy.
Clearly good communication is important. Think about potentially life and death situations, for example climbers and belayers with messages repeated to ensure they were heard correctly. Or a pilot and air traffic controller, with instructions repeated, roger that!

Then there is the importance of communicating great or important ideas. This is the month, on the 19th, that one of the greatest modern communicators is honoured. The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.. His message of hope, inspired by his beliefs, resonates clearly and passionately with me. Here is a link to his "I have a dream speech" - its worth a reread and reflection.

At SierraSil we would like to improve our transparency with you. That means communicating better or in different ways. We are going to invest the time to better share our story and our dreams and hopefully enhance our connection with you, our SierraSil customers. We plan to regularly post (maybe bi-weekly) on our social media conversations or thoughts giving you insights on our vision, our products, maybe a few health tips that we embrace, as well as answering questions that you may ask us.

So welcome to 2026! May it be a year where we listen well, kind assumptions grow and we enjoy good health, physical, spiritual and mental. 
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