Do Your Emotions Get In The Way?

Julie and I love Shark Tank. Have you seen it? Five successful multi-millionaires (aka the sharks) listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas in hopes that one or more of the sharks will invest in their product.

People don’t always take the shark’s offer. There are a number of reasons why, but there’s one reason that makes me yell at the TV every time. There’s one thing that distracts the entrepreneur from seeing clearly. The shark can give them the money they need. The shark can give them priceless wisdom. The shark can broaden their customer base. The shark can increase their sales. But they turn it all down because they’re distracted by emotions.

They are too emotionally attached to their product. Their emotions blind them to an opportunity that will clearly give them and their product a better future. Instead of walking away with a deal that would benefit them and their product, they walk away feeling like they won. Their product is still their product. They still control it. And it will remain “their” baby.

I wonder what I’m too emotionally attached to in my work world. What system, program, decision, environment am I too emotionally attached to? What opportunities for improvement and new ideas am I missing because my emotions have distracted me from reality?