1, #22 - Nothing is inherently obvious
On projection bias — Estimated Read Time: 30 seconds.
We’ve probably all been on both sides of this: Sometimes, we’re the one starting a sentence with “Obviously,” when something should be a given. Sometimes, we’re the one feeling a bit panicky, when someone else starts a sentence that way… and yeah, definitely do not know what they’re talking about. This week, I read an essay that points out something that (sorry) should be obvious: “obviousness is a function of the audience.” This is a problem for us because of projection bias: when we aren’t sure what others know, we just assume they know what we know. And you know what they say about making assumptions… oh, you don’t? Well, there ya go. So, that’s my conclusion: Don’t rest on your assumptions. Be curious.
Insight inspired by: Étienne Fortier-Dubois and his essay, Nothing is inherently obvious.
I think a lot of people who do B2B marketing really suffer from projection bias (well, that's part of the issue, I think the other issue is they've put together the wrong ICP).