Story 32: Distraction
The story: They made a no-distraction pact. She even got a Do Not Disturb cap, which felt like an easy way to honour it. Then a customer opportunity came in while she was deep in work, and she let it pass. I was focused on something else, she said. It could have won us the customer, he said. To her, anything unplanned was a distraction. To him, a distraction was by definition something that did not matter.
What it means for organisations: The pact holds until the first interruption worth having. What it never says is who decides that at the moment it arrives, and the person deciding is the one already inside the work, judging an interruption they have not read yet. She was not weighing the customer against her task. She was applying the rule, correctly, and the rule had no way to tell her this one was different.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 32
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: The office
An office with a pinboard, a bookshelf, plants, and a desk with a laptop. Ally stands proudly wearing a yellow cap that says "DO NOT DISTURB." Axel gestures toward her, grinning with approval.
Axel: Brilliant idea! An easy way to honor our no-distraction pact…
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: The hallway
An office corridor with framed notices, a small table with a phone, and a potted plant. Ally walks along casually. Axel walks beside her, alarmed, gesturing in protest.
Ally: I was focused on something else, so I said no.
Axel: But it could've won us the customer… that's not a distraction!
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