Lever B – A Random Thought

I’ve had the good fortune to work with a range of people from craft laborers to corporate CEOs and everything in between. Some of the most intelligent of them have been craft labor in the construction trades. Often, they are people who either didn’t have or take the opportunity to achieve a formal higher education. However, their innate capabilities are frequently evident in how they address problems and they tend to be delightfully without inflated egos.

I’ve also known a lawyer with a prestigious national law firm, a graduate of one of the nation’s top tier law schools who used duct tape to secure a Christmas tree to the roof of his car only to discover after the fact, that he had taped his doors shut in the process.

The CEOs I’ve known have ranged from very good to very bad people. Frankly, I wouldn’t trust any of them that I’ve met. Seems to me that the days of the cream rising to the top are no more…at least on the paths I’ve traveled. And even the very good ones tend to be working to one kind of private agenda or another.

One of the most memorable characters was a construction superintendent I met when I was quite young. As we drove a locomotive onto the site he told me the story of Lever “A” and Lever “B” as an illustration of the value of using caution. The locomotive was operated using several levers; he said that given the choice between Lever A and Lever B, always choose leave ‘er be…his message was don’t screw around with something you don’t understand.


Adios