Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The race this weekend was remarkable, not for the race (that went well), but the day before and getting to the race. It started out with not understanding that when FedEX Ground says 1 business day for delivery of a package, that actually may mean 2 days. So the chips my staff worked so hard to prepare were not going to make it to the race on time, and the race director was pressuring me to figure something else out. That’s where I learned my second lesson of the day… keys are not for breaking wire ties. Just before I was to leave, I broke the one and only key I have for the Sprinter. Fortunately, what could have been an over $300 “stupid tax” turned out to be only $32. (Apparently it costs $188 for a replacement key and fob from Germany, a reprogramming charge of $120 for the RFID chip imbedded in the key fob, and a tow to the dealer for the Sprinter. But I was fortunate, since the fob is not lost or damaged, I can just replace the key itself.)

Finally, with all the panic in trying to get on the road and getting a key ordered, I did not take time to “reset”. By reset, I mean to take an extra 2 to 5 minutes to sit down and relax, take a few deep breaths and just think about what I was doing. Because I didn’t reset, I made some pretty silly mistakes that could have had huge ramifications. Often, taking that time will pay huge benefits in the future… Scott Bourne, on his PhotoFocus blog wrote an entry called What To Do When Things Just Plain Go Wrong. It is mainly focussed on photography, but the principles can be applied to almost any profession. I think the key to his list of steps on how to “reset” have more to do with forcing you to take the time to take a breath and think about what you are doing, than the actual settings on your equipment. So, when you start having a horrible, no good, very bad day, take a few moments and reset. Perhaps it will make it into a great day.