Teamwork

Now that's what I call teamwork

There is no "I" in team

A team is greater than the sum of it's parts





It is the eve of the NFL regular season opener. Football will be in full swing this weekend and I for one am damn glad. I was getting tired of getting things done on Sunday's when I could have been sitting in my rocking chair in front of the TV yelling and cursing at people who do not even know I exist. It is funny how I can get so worked up about a game. I am sometimes so nervous about a game; I don't sleep well the night before.



Anyway, I wanted to salute the "team." Not the Chiefs or the Saints, but the concept of a team. The team is still more important than any one individual. The USA Olympic men's basketball team learned this. The 1980 USA hockey team also learned this lesson.



The concept applies to our families and our jobs. If we apply the principles of team, we can accomplish much more than if we work as a group of individuals.



Here's to the team, our vehicle to the stars.



Until the next time

John Strain

CYA

Have you ever considered how much behavior is motivated by an individual’s desire to cover his or her own ass? I submit the number of people choosing to cover their ass in lieu of doing what they really believe is fine has reached an epidemic. That's right, a person has a qualified, informed opinion regarding what needs to be done, however, they do something different to cover their ass. This CYA epidemic is costly and it gives people the run around.



Doctors order MRI's when someone complains of a headache. CYA, if the guy has a brain tumor, he will sue me.



Ridiculous safety measures are everywhere. Manufacturers must anticipate every conceivable way an idiot can hurt himself with the product.



Employees spend more time covering their ass than they do real work.



Blame. Blame avoidance. In our culture, more focus is placed on finding someone to blame than to correct a problem.



So, covering your ass instead of doing what you know to be right is a way to waste time, waste money, and provide piss poor service to people.



I am not advocating you give no concern to staying out of trouble, but I believe if you do the right thing, you won't have to cover your ass. In my profession, people are often afraid of being sued. I don't worry about being sued; instead, I apply the Mike Wallace test. That is, if I can picture myself explaining to Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes what I did and not be ashamed or embarrassed, then I am probably doing the right thing. If my reason is a CYA reason and not something rational, I would be embarrassed and ashamed.



If this is not enough, here is a story from Funpic.com:



Don't Cover Your Ass

There was an old donkey that fell down a well on a farm. The donkey cried

& Cried for the farmer to help him, but the farmer paid him no mind.



The farmer was getting tired of the constant noise the donkey was

making, so he called all the villagers to help him bury the donkey in

the well.



They started burying the donkey, but he would shake the dirt off his

back, stomp on it, and make stairs to the top, and eventually got out of

the well.



Moral: No matter how much dirt life throws on your back, shake it off

and don't let it bring you down.



Then the donkey went and kicked the farmer, and all the other villagers.



The REAL Moral of the story: Don't cover your ass 'cause it'll always

come back to get you.



Until the next time

John Strain

Doing Something About It

Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.

Mark Twain

Just down the street from my house is a little bridge. On one of the guardrails, someone wrote the "F" word. It has been there since we moved in 13 years ago. The first time I noticed it I think I commented about the city needing to do something about the conspicuous "F" word. Over the years, I have run by, ridden a bike past, walked by, and rode by the "F" word in a car approximately one million times - rough estimate. From time to time it would catch my eye and I would comment about someone needing to do something about it.









One morning last week I walked by it while walking my friend Hobo. I thought about how many years the "F" word had been on that guardrail. The usual thought entered my mind about someone needing to do something about it, then I had another thought. Why not me? Hmmm, why not me? I could not think of why not me, so I endeavored to fix the little problem.









One can of spray paint later, I was walking to the bridge armed with a wire brush, sand paper, a wet cloth, and some silver Rust-Oleum. In just a few minutes, the 13-year reign of the "F" word on our little bridge ended. I finally did something about it.



What about you and your little corner of the world? Is there something someone needs to do something about? I want to challenge you to be that someone. I want to hear about it too. I will do another post about people who did something about it.



So look around, take on a project, and then email me with the story. Together, we can make a difference when we all decide to do something about it.



Until the next time

John Strain

The Handy Man Can

This holiday weekend I have been fixing things and doing things that have needed it for a long time. The vacuum cleaner's plug broke. That small task was taken care of on Saturday. Then a couple shots of WD-40 silenced the annoying squeaks of the front door and the den door. Then it was on to bigger projects. I fabricated a part out of sheet metal to fix my lawn mower deck. I won't try to explain it, but it took a while and sheet metal will cut you very quickly.



While I was working on the lawn mower, I decided to change the blade. The off brand universal blade required some filing to make it work, but it now sits poised to spin through my lawn like a Cape Verde hurricane the next time I mow.



Not long ago some clown (I don't really know what the person does for a living) ran into my mailbox post with his car. It dented the mailbox, cracked the post, and bent the newspaper box next to it. I propped them back up, but they resemble punch drunk prizefighters about to go down. Today, I will set a new post and mailbox.



After the mailbox, I will move inside to my computer workstation. I am going to install a cooling fan in the CPU cabinet. I am paranoid of heat and want to keep the equipment cool. That's why I wear vented underwear - just kidding. Anyway, I will have to do some real man stuff for this task, like measuring, sawing, drilling, electricity, cursing, but eventual success.



I have a floor lamp that needs a new switch whenever I can find one. Home Depot and Lowes don't have one so I guess I will have to go to an electrical supply store. I found a switch online, but it would wind up costing $20. I think the lamp only cost $30. I may just connect it without the switch and plug it in and unplug it to make it work. Doing that would lose the dimmer function and I want the dimmer.



My last project of the day is a surprise. I will post about it tomorrow.



Enjoy your Labor Day. I think the point is to rest, but I have work to do.



Until the next time

John Strain

Weekend Replay: Enjoying A Cup of Joe

Text Version This was originally posted July 31, 2003.

Until the next time

John Strain