14 June 2010 "My way or The Highway" Not Way! Way!

Have you ever been told something like, "I don't much care what you think. Shut up and do it this way. I know this will work."?

After I get over being extremely pissed off, I try to go to my "zen," centered place where I understand that the person who uttered those irritating words is operating from a story they hold that makes sense to them. Convinced they are right, their ability to be open; to listen; to adapt ceases to exist. After all, more conversation isn't needed – let's just get on with it.

I also tell myself that they are most likely operating from a linear, cause-and-effect paradigm. It worked for me in the past – therefore it will work in the future for you. What's the problem? Well there is a problem. The world doesn't always work that way! Different conditions require different approaches; require new ways of thinking; invite new options and choices.

Listen to yourself for a week. How often do you suffer from what Joel Barker, futurist and author, calls the "terminal disease of certainty?"