Energy Leadership, 2nd Edition

9Removing Obstacles to Success (Level 3)

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances – to choose one's own way.

—Viktor Frankl, neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor

The day before our next scheduled appointment, Richard called to tell me some “good and perhaps disturbing” news. Since our team meeting, he was no longer avoiding Don, and instead, the two of them had been talking regularly – and when they talked, Don no longer focused the conversations on getting rid of Tonya. He seemed to have dropped that line of thinking altogether.

“In the last couple of weeks,” Richard said, “Don has been much more engaged, and I haven't heard one shouting match between him and Tonya.”

The good news continued. Even though Don's title was marketing director, he had started taking some of the sales work on himself and had even secured a few new accounts. This meant that not only was he making Richard's life easier, but he was also bringing in some welcome income.

“But here's the part that has me a little rattled. I'm wondering if this is just the quiet before the storm, because Tonya has asked to speak with me immediately. What she has to say won't wait, she tells me. So I'm scheduled to see her first thing tomorrow morning. Do you think that my spending so much time with Don has sent her over the edge?”

I cautioned Richard about the traps of assumptions and interpretations and reminded ...