This weekend was the Sales Tax Free weekend in Iowa, designed to save residents money on back-to-school essentials. It’s always a busy time in stores as people take advantage of the price break and go shopping, whether or not they have school-age children to outfit.
Yet, this was the same time period that the landlord of the shopping center scheduled to have the parking lot re-paved. Half of the lot was cordoned off, including the entire section in front of the popular TJ Maxx. Maybe the crew was free because no other retailer wanted to schedule at that time?
It’s a classic example of isolated thinking. The timing worked for the paving company and the property manager apparently did not consider the whole picture and anticipate this conflict.
Have you been guilty of the same narrow thought — scheduling something without asking about the impact on others or checking to see what else is occurring in your family/organization/community? Before you make your next commitment, take a broad view of potential conflicts before you steamroll over everyone else.
