What if It Doesn’t Work?

When the foreman showed us the pipe laser, we thought it was cool...

But we didn't trust it.

We used it because we had to...

But we insisted on double-checking everything by hand.

Just to be sure.🎯

It took some time, but before long, we couldn't imagine working without it.

It was 1985.

The same thing happened when they wanted to guide my dozer blade with a laser in the late 90s...

I couldn't trust it.

Didn't want to either.

A lot of pride comes with cutting a grade within a tenth.

But the laser helped me cut grades faster, closer, and more consistently.

It wasn't long before I couldn't imagine working without that either.

What if the new thing doesn't work?

Using new tools is hard.

Even when the old tools aren't working as well as they should and even when we know there's a better way.

It's still hard to switch.

For one, learning something can be a slow and frustrating process.

We're going to make a lot of mistakes and probably feel pretty foolish along the way.

And no one likes making mistakes and feeling foolish.

At least with the old way of doing things we know what we're doing.

And, if anything goes wrong with the old way, we know how to fix it.

But with the new way?

Who knows.

Technology is always great...until it isn't.

But even still.

I can't wait to see what they come up with next.