In almost 30 years of running our company, I’ve seen one silent brand-killer show up repeatedly. It’s not lack of talent; it’s not budget; it’s not even poor strategy.
It’s unquestioned assumptions.
And in my experience, one of the most powerful questions any leader can ask is this:
“What assumption are we making that’s no longer true?”
This one question has the power to save your brand from stagnation, irrelevance, or worse — slow, unnoticed decline.
We assume our audience still cares about the same things. We assume our value proposition is still resonating. We assume our website, our pitch, our brand language are still “working.” But markets shift, customers change, competition evolves and what worked last year might already be working against you today.
But here’s the most dangerous part: these assumptions rarely wave red flags. They just quietly dull your edge, until one day you realize your growth has plateaued, your engagement has dropped or your team is running hard but going nowhere.
Great leaders challenge their assumptions routinely — not reactively. They don’t wait for crisis. They build time into the calendar to step back, ask hard questions and dismantle old thinking. They test, they listen, they evolve — before they have to.
So, if you’re a leader and you’re not asking this question, here is what I’d suggest.
- Gather your team. Ask this one question out loud.
- Be brutally honest.
- Identify what needs to be unlearned.
- Then reframe, retool and relaunch.
Great leaders who run great brands don’t just build. They rebuild — strategically and fearlessly.
