Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt. A lack of honouring those in leadership does. This is because we become disrespectful if we don’t honour others, not just those in leadership, and disrespect slides into contempt and all the rest of it. Familiarity needs to be careful to avoid the “Practice Makes Perfect” or “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect” rabbit holes, too. Familiarity needs to practice constantly in order to maintain competence ascending to mastery and then second nature. We did a ChoiceUp! podcast some time ago on Honour, and you can listen to or view it embedded below.
We need to remain familiar with the tools we use, too. As I write this, I’m waiting for the aches and pains to subside because I have been using machetes to clear undergrowth, brush, saplings, thornbushes and similar plants over the last few days. I have used machetes to do similar things since I was a child, so I ought to be familiar with using machetes, right? Wrong. What I did was fantasize that I was the one doing all that cutting, when it was supposed to be the machete that did the cutting. So what happened? My tropical paradise urban tenderfoot hands, arms and the rest of my body became sore from overuse doing things the wrong way. Now, don’t jump in here telling me that it’s not important to do things right but to do the right things, because that instantly qualifies you for a coaching-cum-training session with me, to say nothing of all the kicks your derriere will receive. Why do you think pilots still undergo cockpit drill regularly? Mongol warriors herded animals and hunting game was part of everyday life. Do you think they needed training in using all those skills they already had as part of a formidable army? How about the Japanese pilots who had successfully destroyed the ships in Pearl Harbour? Did those pilots need training for the next Japanese strike on Midway? How about actuaries? Do actuaries need training not only in forecasting scenarios for investment risk but counterfactual history as well?
Think you know how to do stuff? Get things done? Practice constantly. Train constantly. Get external people to calibrate you constantly. Grab situation updates all the time. And remember that counterfactual history is really important, too. And if you need people to do some work involving machetes, grasscutters, hedge trimmers and the like, you can look me up, too. Caveat. I charge. You’re welcome!
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