Ruben Glueck

• There is work that I know how to do and it has to be done every day forever. This is relatively easy. It takes discipline and a resistance to boredom.

• Problems have to be solved and their solutions have to be implemented and it usually doesn’t work best the first try.

• The punishment for wrong thinking is being condemned to only doing work that requires no thought.

• Solving problems with everyone watching and back seat driving is harder. This is especially tough if other people have the power to give you orders you must obey.

• Good solutions involve compromise and that invites people to complain and criticise. This takes confidence and thick skin.

• Most real world problems involve incomplete information so that a terrific solution could fail through no fault of my own.

• Resist the temptation to order people around without their consent. My solution may be optimal, but I still have to sell it. This is true even when I am the boss.

• Believe it or not, someone else might have a better idea than me.

• The gold standard for any team is respect in the midst of crises. When I win this time and he wins that time, this is not an invitation for a parallel pair of   I-told-you-so’s. When does it end? Before it starts.

• Surprises happen. Accidents happen. Shit happens!

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Here's what I used to do:

When I see a goal in the distance, I close my mind and go straight for it in a rush in order to enjoy the burst of satisfaction upon arrival.

And here's why it was irresponsible:

• I neglected the possibility of seeing a better prize and switching plans en-route or modifying this plan as needed

• I didn't consider that someone might trip me up because it was so obvious where I was headed

• Rushing anywhere is reckless

• I ignored the fact that the direct path to a goal may not be the best one

• I didn't ask for help, I didn't discuss my plans with others and I didn't care that my single minded rush was curious and might harm someone

• I go berserk if I am interrupted

• All notions of teamwork are lost in this process

• I didn't consider that I might have been mistaken somewhere and the goal couldn't have been obtained that way and all would fail

• Perhaps the one goal could have been broken up into sub-goals each carrying its own independent reward rather than one single burst of satisfaction. The former is healthier.

I'm much smarter now. Ya live, Ya learn!