Preferences Can Hinder Creativity

She struts confidently into the room.  Puts her things down at the table and walks up to me and tells me, "Ma'am we have a problem with delivery.  Production was not able to deliver what they committed."  I looked at her and asked her what she did and she told me, "Me?  What else can I do?  They are the ones who know what goes on in the floor, why should it come from me?"

This mentality is a dangerous one.  It makes you hard to work with.  It makes you limited.  It makes you confined to only one comfortable place: your preferences.

Circumstances are mixed with a lot of preferences coming from different people.  Some people prefer fast paced interactions.  Some are slow and easy.  Some prefer long discussions.  Some prefer short and straight to the point.  Although I cannot judge people because of their preferences, I would say in some situations, preferences get in the way of allowing people to work together and come up with creative solutions.  

"I prefer to be updated as soon as there are changes in the schedule."  She says.  What happens if she is not updated?  How will she navigate the circumstance?  These situations happen everyday and managing people who have this mindset is quite a challenge.  It somehow limits my own creative inclinations as well.  It limits how I can approach the situation.  It limits what I can express in a situation.  It limits how I think about a person and how I can work with them more productively.  It limits what we can create together.

It's disappointing when I see someone struggle with having to stay stuck in their preferences.  They become slave to them.  I've always been someone who allow myself to appreciate others' preferences while also acknowledging that I have some of mine.  

Still, it's a Friday and I look out at an orange sky and thank heaven for the past two days that have been filled with creative conversations despite the limitedness of business situations.

the skyscrapers outside my window