Piece by Piece Anonymous

“OK… I’m not sure that was supposed to happen.”

My co-worker Greg and I both regarded the bike shock that now lay in two parts on the shop floor in a puddle of hydraulic fluid. The bike itself hung from the work stand, looking disconcertingly like a beast with a mortal wound, an empty skeleton of the bike it once was. “Well, at least we know that if it didn’t need fixing before, it sure does now!” Greg exclaimed with a mischievous grin. I was in awe at how quickly he had assessed the situation, wasting no time focusing on the issue, but instead accepting the change of plans and moving almost instantaneously to acceptance and finding a solution, while I still stared at what looked like an insurmountable task of returning this 11,000 dollar race bike to its former glory.

These moments were what made me realize that in order to become a better worker, I needed to be able to view obstacles as opportunities.So I got to work. Starting at the things that were the most obvious problems, and methodically working my way through the bike until it worked like new. I always start with the brakes, since they are close to the most important part of the bike, keeping everything else, including the rider themself in check. They remind me of...