Different Interpretations/Different Worlds

Here’s the scenario that unfolded a couple of days ago on a flight from St. Louis to Boston: A flight attendant tells a passenger on a commercial airline that she must wait to use the lavatory as one of the pilots will be coming out of the cockpit.  (As a security precaution, flight attendants in the United States typically position a food cart as a barrier blocking the aisle whenever the cockpit door opens in flight.)  The first officer emerges from the cockpit, enters the lav, and, after a few minutes, returns to the flight deck.  The two flight attendants continue their conversation without a break, leaving the food cart blocking the aisle and the lavatory.

The thought runs through my mind that the attendants are too engrossed in their own conversation to be bothered by removing the cart.  When I say as much to the passenger next to me, who was the person originally denied access to the lav, she responds that in all likelihood the other pilot would be using the restroom, too.  Hmmm.  Same situation, but two very different interpretations, with two very different emotional experiences that cascade from those interpretations. 

Maybe this scenario exposes something important about how we perceive the world, or, more to the point, about how different people interpret events differently.  This reminds me that it is a mistake—and a very common one for those in charge—to assume that everyone interprets things the same way.  Best to keep this in mind when you announce your next human resource policy change or business restructuring.