Chris Argyris calls assumptions 'theories-in-use' - the implicit assumptions that actually guide behavior, that tell group members how to perceive, think about, and feel about things."

These assumptions, by definition, operate at an unconscious level.  They are taken for granted, and thus are the most difficult to discern because the least discussed from within.  Given this difficulty, we help leaders to identify these assumptions through a more practical measure - the priorities that are being practiced in a group or culture.

The single common denominator among all organizations is that they are full of employees that have to make choices. Every day, regardless of position, industry or nationality, employees everywhere make millions—even billions— of choices. In every choice, the individual is presented with two or more alternatives, each associated with knowable and unknowable consequences, but only one of which can be selected in a decision at that particular moment. The employee must choose which is most important: i.e., the higher priority.  It is here, even at seemingly insignificant decision-points, that high performing organizations are made or broken. If employees are habitually practicing sound priorities, these decision points serve as the fulcrum for achieving excellent results. If not, organizational performance suffers and employees put themselves increasingly at risk.