It is the night of your seven-year-old daughter’s first dance recital. You have been promising her for weeks that you “wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
An hour before the show, the phone rings, and it is your largest customer. There has been a fire at his plant, and he wants you there immediately. He will not accept anyone else and makes it clear that you will lose his business if you do not come.
What do you do?
Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash
For me, there’s still not enough information. On the one hand, I could tell my customer that I’ll be there as soon as possible. I would then go to the show, see my daughter dance, then head to the plant. When asked why it took me so long to get there, I would explain family matters prevented me from getting there any sooner, but I got there as soon as possible. I would likely do this if the recital was fairly close to the plant; however, if I was struggling to provide for my family, I would leave. I don’t know what “my job” is to give a better answer. For instance, I work in the natural gas industry where my time on the job site would be extremely limited and I could perform my duties quickly enough to make it back to the recital. The information also does not identify how long ago the fire was. All these things make a difference. I also have a great relationship with my daughters and could explain why I had to go away and not see the recital. I would take her out on a daddy-daughter date or ask for her to dance for me at home. I may even ask my wife to record it and we could play the video at home with popcorn, candy, and ice cream, or the like. In whichever case I went with, I’m positive I could satisfy both my daughter and my customer.
Photo by Keith Johnston on Unsplash
For as long as he could remember, David Hopkins wanted to be a successful high school football coach. He even dreamed of joining the college ranks one day. In late 2000, after having achieved an enviable win-loss record at a smaller school, he was named as the head football coach at a large West Texas high school that had a long tradition of winning state championships.
On the same day, his wife filed for divorce. She cited Hopkins’s many days on the road as the primary reason for their separation, and announced that she and her four-year-old daughter were moving back to her East Texas hometown.
If you were Hopkins, what would you do?
This seems like a relationship long in the breaking. I’m betting that David’s wife had been complaining long before the announcement. I go on a weekly date night with my wife. During our dates, we talk about everything under the sun…or moon. I lived in West Texas and stayed with my best friend for a summer in East Texas. Between the two, I think East Texas is better, too. I think David’s wife should support him in his dreams, especially because football only lasts for a season each year. The amount of travel is trivial. In this case, I feel the wife is being petty, but I do reserve the opinion that marriage should be for forever and not split asunder. In this case, I would work with my wife to keep the relationship solid, assuming all else was fine in their relationship (doubted, but must be assumed for this case). I would then, seeing how strong she is in her feelings, have to lower my dreams and be satisfied with being an awesome coach on the east side of the state. Perhaps I could find a college in East Texas that would hire me.
