“It’s the thought that counts”? Really, Mike? That seems to be what you’re saying. But in the end, isn’t it really the outcome that counts? If someone hits you in the head with a 2 x 4 on a job site, your injury is going to be the same whether it was intentional or accidental. Sure, your reaction to the person who did it may be different, including your willingness to work with him again, but in the end, is it really the intent that matters? If the guy is just an honest clutz and every time you work with him, he injures you, are you going to keep on working with him and getting injured just because he didn’t mean any harm?
Or, let’s take away the actual injury. Imagine that you meet a woman who constantly makes loud, annoying, inappropriate jokes. You know her intent is to be funny…but does that make you enjoy her jokes more? Does it make you enjoy her company more? Does the unfunny and annoying become amusing? Or is a bad joke a bad joke, regardless of the motivation behind it?
Sure, if you know someone means well, you can cut him or her some slack. You can decide not to hold it against him. You can opt not to sue because he whacked you in the head with a 2 x 4. But in the end, intent doesn’t impact the bottom line at all: a guy who keeps cracking your skull with a 2 x 4 isn’t someone you want to keep standing next to. Asking him to explain isn’t going to change that.
[...] you really do only get one chance to make a first impression. Tiffany compares this to being hit in the head with a 2X4. Personally, I don’t hold grudges. If someone accidentally hit me in the head with a [...]