He Who’s Good with a Hammer…..

A lifelong lesson from the master of the mechanical world

This is a story about an experience I had back in college. Not unlike most students, I owned a very old car. A 14 year old mid-size Chevy. This Chevy (a Belair, I think) had a great radio, which is what drew me to it. Reliability and maintenance costs were secondary. The lack of money didn’t impact my priorities in a car purchase.

The sound system turned out to be the only reliable component in the vehicle. One cold winter day, I started the car and began a one hour trip to visit one of my relatives. Three miles from their house, the engine quit and the car glided to a stop. I packed up my stuff and walked the remainder of the way.

After warming up, I got questioned extensively about the car's 'behavior' prior to the incident. I felt reassured. After all, my uncle was a carpenter/builder, a self-professed master of the mechanical world! Perhaps the most reassuring phrase was: “don't worry, my truck did the same thing and I fixed it within two minutes. In fact, I have the right tools in the back of my truck .” I felt that overwhelming flash of hope so prevalent when it’s fate (due to your lack of money) that decides if you’re in for a lifestyle change. I was thinking I wouldn't have to spend the rest of the winter trying to save enough dough to fix the beast.

We hopped in his truck and drove to the scene of the 'incident', both exiting the truck with a self-confident air. After all, he was a builder/carpenter, the master of the mechanical world. My uncle poked around in his toolbox for what seemed an eternity. I was expecting to see a 98-piece reversible dual-drive socket set -- you know the kind they sell at Sears. You can imagine how shocked I was when he pulled out a 20 ounce straight claw framing hammer (a Stanley, I believe).

I asked no questions. I ran to the hood latch, popped it open and watched in shock as he, the master of the mechanical world, repeatedly beat my carburetor with this huge hammer. 'There', he said. 'This should get it going.' He mumbled 'sticky float valve' or something technical.

Fate — You guessed right, it didn't start and I spent that cold winter walking to work to pump gas at Cumberland Farms, saving for a new carburetor and spark plug wire for my Belair -- which now stood as a monument to the master of the mechanical world.

This terrible experience taught be a valuable lesson - He who is good with a hammer, may tend to think everything is a nail.

It wasn't until I graduated and joined the corporate world that I realized that, there too, were many, many people who were 'masters of their world'. This story sticks with me today and has significantly influenced how I approach problems and opportunities. I don't keep file cabinets or computer files of the questions I have answered, problems I have solved or opportunities I have worked on so I can go back and re-use them. Rather, I think things through once again with the firm belief that with each new day comes new learning and with each new learning comes the opportunity to do a better job solving problems and creating opportunities.