A friend received a call from his harried wife who believed that she lost her purse while out running errands. She had it at Walmart but when she arrived at the gym, her crossbody was not in its usual secure location across her chest. Panic ensued, and she began working with authorities to review camera footage, etc. When my friend arrived, he calmly searched the car and found her purse in the center console. She had put it there for safekeeping while she was in the gym — but went to Target first and forgot about her plan.
This same friend was involved with a HVAC presumed malfunction at work. The system just was not working even though he did everything right — until he stopped in his tracks and replayed the whole scenario, only to realize there was another step to take that would resolve the problem.
In both situations, the person had the answer the whole time. There wasn’t really a problem with the purse or HVAC — the problem was that people made assumptions and were momentarily so convinced that they were right, that they failed to stop and replay the scenario step-by-step to challenge what they thought to be true.
The next time you’re faced with a dilemma, methodically review what assumptions you have made. Taking a few moments to think clearly about where you might be wrong could be the quickest path to helping you get it right.
Thanks, Brian!
