There also is no algorithm for "how to get an impossible number of tasks done on-time," but people who can find a way manage to make themselves pretty much indispensable, and those who can't are often the first ones to go in a restructuring.
I think that some individuals are just not as capable when it comes to theory of mind, quite honestly. Problem-solving that involves other people requires it, because your solutions ideally will not make enemies out of your boss or coworkers.
Bostonian's example demonstrates that principle in action, actually. There's more than simple problem-solving at work there-- 'getting free' is one solution, yes, but one that would have consequences for the other individual which would ultimately render it non-ideal interpersonally. Some individuals would never have even seen that. Maybe not even in hindsight.
I suspect that modern helicopter parenting also contributes to very low level development of theory of mind in afflicted offspring, in addition to the more obvious learned helplessness that Wren discussed. It just never occurs to some individuals that other people have thoughts, feelings, and personal agendas. Seems to me that this is an increasingly serious problem, in fact-- the belief that the world exists to fulfill one's personal needs and wants, I mean.
TO be clear, I recognize that this is a lifelong challenge for some individuals who are not NT. But that is not the people I am referring to. I'm referring to otherwise NT people who simply haven't ever really had it reinforced to them that they should consider others as part of decision-making.
