Did you know that there are people who have the job of checking buildings and bridges and other key structures in our infrastructure and making sure that they’re up to code? When they’re done inspecting they typically go back to their office and write up a report on issues that are present and the level of concern they have and how immediately it needs to be addressed. Occasionally they do the inspection and slap a physical or virtual red sticker on it and close it down or restrict access until things are addressed. But most of the time it’s a case of inspection followed by a write up and it may or may not move up the list of importance depending on what the inspection finds.
You probably saw the news about the ship that hit the Baltimore, Maryland bridge at the end of March. If you followed the story they talked about how the bridge hadn’t been updated or retrofitted for 2024 and the big boats on the river today. Structurally it was sound and that wasn’t a concern, but there are things that could have been added or addressed to give it a better chance should there be an issue with a ship as happened.
How frustrating must it be to go around to all these structures and tell people each time that there are issues and to not have them follow up until things are critical or beyond because of either laziness or budgeting? I understand that it isn’t always possible to fix everything at once, and yes, it’s better to fix things when they’re code red than waiting for them to completely fail, but why would you want to take the chance when like the bridge you could do some things that might make disasters a lot less destructive before you get to that point? And why wouldn’t you try to invest a little each year into repairs and upkeep so that you don’t even get to ‘code red’ in the first place?
My point is that there are many ways to get to success. Some people tend to work by the seat of their pants and usually skate through OK, but my experience in those situations is that it’s stressful and usually more costly than it needs to be. Being early and under budget for everything is also another path people take to success and it sometimes comes with stress too if you’re working faster than you should safely and it may also motivate you to cut corners, or it may mean that you consistently give yourself too much cushion and that can tie up resources too. Typically our path to success has parts that run behind and over budget, parts that don’t take as long or cost as much and parts that go exactly as expected. If you anticipate that there will be parts that run behind and over budget, or maybe even that you might miss something and need a little ‘hail Mary’ to make it through, wouldn’t you want to do whatever you can to protect yourself and your resources (and everyone else who will be affected by it)? And why wouldn’t you take advantage of retrofit type advantages when they come your way to further bolster your success? Maybe the biggest lesson of all in it is one that we know well: step up and take care of and maintain the things that you’re responsible for. Do you need to step up to reach your best success?