Beware! Vicious Guard Cat!

Some variations in the human condition are deeper than we think, and less subject to modification, perhaps. As we have struggled the past week, recovering from a house fire, there have been many opportunities for different styles and thought patterns to manifest themselves.

At one moment of creative tension, min vrouw asked pointedly, "Why can't you, just this once, think through the alternatives logically?" The penny dropped, and she quietly remarked, "Never mind; it's like asking a cat to bark."

So, we survived the missed-by-a-mile failure of great minds to meet at the intersection of Reason Street and Action Avenue. Do you encounter such mismatches at work?

Are there certain people who just never think through. Courses of action that defy logic, or circle the objective without hitting the mark? Are they hopeless, needing only to be given a little leather to chew on while they take their places on the next outbound ice floe?

Reality check! You can't sweet talk, cajole, intimidate, or retrain some people into adopting behaviors that conflict deeply with their core beings. Sure, everyone deserves a fair shot at learning more about what behaviors and styles are expected, or preferred, in a given organization. They've earned a serious try at adding a useful club to the bag, and some will, in fact become more flexible and multi-talented.

But many others won't. So, it's up to you to figure out how to - not suffer through carrying a load of square pegs and round holes, but - find roles that better match their essential personas. Or, help them find other enterprise that can tolerate, or even treasure their special outlooks and gifts.

Mee-arf!