My previous post on understanding other people’s actions and decisions has what I believe is a very important followup. And this concept I’m about to discuss extends way beyond business, but includes politics, friendships, and life in general.

I mentioned that sometimes people seem unable or unwilling to understand the line of reasoning that another person followed to reach a decision. If their division manager decides to lay off 500 people, they will stand there and shout, “They can’t do that! We won’t be able to meet our production goals because there’s not enough people to do the work!”

Well, guess what. They can, they have, and they will.

This is critically important for you, and everyone, to understand this. Not everyone makes the decisions you will, not everyone has the same prioritized goals you do, and not everyone will follow the same line of reasoning you will. So you should not ever assume that some decision won’t be made just because you wouldn’t make it. Or even more dramatic, you should not ever assume that some decision won’t be made just because you are asserting that decision won’t make logical sense.

Make a business decision that literally ruins a company? We’ve all seen it done.

Make a personal decision that ruins your finances, your relationships, or your own personal health? We’ve all seen it done.

Get laid off, even though you are the only one in an organization that knows how to do something and the project or even company will fail without you? We’ve all seen it done.

If you want to succeed, or even just survive, you need this skill. The skill of being able to understand why someone else would make the decisions they do (even if you don’t agree), and then understanding that those decisions might be made, no matter how illogical or impossible they seem to you.
Because we are seeing this every day. They can, they have, and they will.