Apr 20 2025 - Walking Away from a needless fight

Walking Away  by Steve Adams

My first job as an engineer found me working for a large multinational company and in charge of the electrical distribution project.  

One day, a Superintendent for the construction company called me out to the site location. The design team had routed a 24” water line through every column in the new building.  He was red faced angry and preceded to throw a string of words at me while a circle of his men formed around us. Being oil rig workers, I am sure they expected a brawl but when it became apparent there was to be no discussion, I turned around silently and walked away.

The Superintendent and I work the situation out in my office 10 minutes later and the system was a success. At my farewell supper, he insisted on sitting across the table from me and gave a speech later during which he looked me straight in the eyes and said, “young man, you have a lot of grit”.

We define ourselves not by what we DO in the good times, but by what we DO in the bad.

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