Fifth Street

Upon arriving at the restaurant selected by a friend and me, I received a text from the person asking if we were at the same location.  That’s when it dawned on us that this restaurant has a facility on the 300 block of Fifth Street in Des Moines, Iowa, and another on the 300 block of Fifth Street in West Des Moines, Iowa.  “Nope,” I replied.  In fact, I was at the West Des Moines diner, and he was at the Des Moines establishment.  He graciously agreed to come my direction, so I had a few moments to process what had happened to create this communication breakdown.  What are the odds that a local restaurant would hold such similarities between two of its locations?

I went back to our initial communication and the texts between us said, “Let’s meet at [the named restaurant] on Fifth Street.”  We both assumed the other knew which city we intended to land in.  I’m a resident of West Des Moines, and he is a resident of Des Moines, so it makes sense why confusion had crept in.  Our lived-experience and perspective shaped our individual analysis.  They are neighboring communities in the same county with a very short commute from any given point between the two cities, so they are often discussed as though they are one in the same.  This works for efficiency purposes, until it doesn’t.  Neither of us provided clarifying information or asked distinguishing follow-up questions.  As a result, we ended up at two different locations bearing the same name with eerily similar addresses.

We both were correct with our interpretations of the texts between us, and yet we didn’t start where we hoped: at the same location to dine together.  Thankfully, it was a small blunder in the scheme of things.  It was a weekend and neither of us were pressed for time, so we adapted and conveyed at the same restaurant.  However, consider if the small blunder was a mistyped decimal point that changed the value of something or a misread message where context wasn’t understood and feelings were hurt?  A molehill can become a mountain when there is a lack of shared understanding.  Alignment and execution can easily misfire by the minute. 

Changepoints:

Think of an example where the best of intentions still led you down the wrong path:

·      How did the situation feel while you were experiencing it and then later when you identified the misstep?

·      How can the process of avoiding assumptions help create more accurate and useful communication both in personal and professional capacities?

·      In what ways would people evaluate the way you present information to others?  Would it benefit from adding more details, emotion, or brevity? 

·      Who are the people in your life who are easy to interact with and why?  What ways do you work together to avoid misunderstandings?

o   What flows from having these types of relationships?

o   How can this be replicated in the ways you engage with others?

 

The next time you turn on your GPS, consider if you are going to the restaurant in the right city.  It makes a big difference during your navigation.

outSIGHTin, LLC: Creating awareness as a changepoint for improved organizational results.