Lauren and I are packing all our possessions into big, brown boxes.

In a few days, we leave the mean streets of East London and the stone-clad floors at Fort Grundy to move into our new family home in the UK’s sunny City of Steel, Sheffield.

I was rummaging through some boxes yesterday when I came across a bag stuffed with old cables.

“Oooh” I said, excitedly. “These could be handy”.

Lauren looked up from behind a huge pile of clothes.

“Please don’t tell me you’re packing those” she said, glancing at the cables in my hand.

“But they could be really useful” I replied.

“Tom – that makes no sense. We don’t need those cables. You haven’t used them in almost half a decade. Throw them away!”.

As I write this email a couple of days later, I’m pleased to report that I took Lauren’s helpful suggestion to heart. The cables are now in the bottom of a skip at our local tip.

Clearly Lauren was right. Keeping the cables would’ve made no sense. 

But I still really wanted to keep them! 

I mean, I wouldn’t have bought the cables if I didn’t have them already. But now I DID have them, I didn’t want to throw them away.

Logical? Absolutely not.

But I think most of us act like this.

In fact, I’d go so far to say that most humans are 100% predictably irrational. And yet we carry on as if other people live rationally!

The workplace is a clear example of this.

We assume our boss will adopt the best idea because it’s the best idea. We assume a clear email to our colleague will lead to clear action. We assume that if the data stacks up, the right decision will follow.

But that’s not how people work.

I remember reading a quote from Jeff Bezos a while back which went something like “When the data and the anecdotes disagree, the anecdotes are usually right”.

i.e. the perfectly polished spreadsheets, intricate models and beautiful powerpoints tell you what could happen whereas humans show you what actually DOES happen based on what makes sense to them in the moment.

Sure, sometimes a spreadsheet is exactly what makes sense in that moment.

But “what makes sense” comes first. Not logic. 

Which means whatever challenge or obstacle you’re facing at work, the solution isn’t better logic. The solution is understanding how humans make sense of things instead. And unsurprisingly, that starts with understanding how you make sense of things.

Most of us are so busy reading the room, trying to influence our boss, getting team mates to do stuff and chasing up our colleagues that we never take the time to turn the spotlight on ourselves like this.

But if you want to invest a bit of time and attention in yourself, you can.

My coaching is that spotlight.

If you want to find out more:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

To fulfilment,

Tom