People have probably been taking shortcuts since the beginning of time… perhaps for some early humanoid the decision to cut across a forest clearing rather than going around it resulted in an easy dinner for some predator. The shortest distance between two points may be a straight line and possibly the fastest but it could well be the riskiest.
It’s human nature to try and optimize things and this can be for many reasons. Saving time or effort, getting more for less by shaving off the odd corner, or even just plain laziness and a quick fix. But all short cuts no matter how short or long involve some risk in terms of time, cost, quality, or integrity.
People cut corners, or skimp, or take a chance in all walks of life. Sometimes these chances work, and sometimes they don’t but eventually most are found out with some being far more spectacular than others.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is, jokingly, one of them. Despite poor ground the structure itself reflects the ingenuity of medieval- masons who accommodated movement and our modern-day geotechnical and structural engineers who arrested the movement.
However, where real corners have been cut these bear witness to recklessness and negligence. Chernobyl in 1986 resulted from inadequately trained people ‘experimenting’ with a nuclear power station control system and ‘pushing the limit’ of a flawed reactor design.
Challenger, the shuttle disaster, also occurred in 1986 when the known principles of thermodynamics and the effects of low temperature were ignored in favour of ‘good press’.
Taking a short cut…sometimes we need to ask ourselves if it’s really worth it.
Short Cuts & Cutting Short
In the 16th century a shortcut meant a shorter path. Over the centuries it referred to something that wasn’t up to standard or that hadn’t been completed properly. Today it’s also about using fewer keys on a computer or smartphone…saving time has always been important.
Cutting short is similar, it’s about stopping something before it’s finished. Shakespeare used it to mean a sudden end to someone’s life and this is perhaps the worst thing about short cuts, particularly when it involves physical safety as well as the buoyancy of a company or the success of a project.
But why, with the knowledge people gain and the wealth of experience available do people knowingly take short cuts? It’s typically about saving time and, as time is money, quick decisions, or cutting short a process can make the difference between profit and loss. ‘Cutting’ brings any edge closer and, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, when we start working at the margin between the sweetness of low price and the bitterness of poor quality, we will soon realise that cutting corners can remain with us for life.
It can be a fine line between something that is safe and a failure. Is this because people don’t care, don’t know, or don’t want to know?
Boldness & Brashness
When it comes to cutting corners two approaches may be taken, bold or brash. The bold approach is to make a confident decision and, with courage in one’s own convictions, proceed with quiet confidence. Alternatively, one can act impulsively and without any sensitivity for the situation, and then proceed with little tact and complete arrogance.
Both approaches can fail. But if they don’t then that’s another matter. Brashness and boldness can then allow some people to take a short cut in the promotion stakes and achieve stardom and popularity. Those around them may be considered also-rans and plodders who should emulate their ‘luckier’ peers. That is, of course, until something goes wrong, and their luck runs out. Playing at the margin, just like gambling, can become addictive and fear of failure or even its awareness can be easily and quickly forgotten.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a German philosopher argued that the best way to live is, “dangerously.” For those who live life on the edge and are constantly pushing themselves to their limits and taking risks, they are the ones who truly experience life. Unfortunately for the bold and the brash their lifestyles can be quickly cut short.
Age & Experience
It’s a truism that growing old is inevitable but growing up is optional. We often hear of ‘greybeards’ and many think that experience comes with age. But ‘greybeards’ aren’t always grey and may well have no beard…gaining experience in person and learning from other people’s experience is also an option.
A person with 30 years’ experience working in the same place for the same company in the same job may have served their time. Such a singular experience cannot be readily compared with somebody with less time-served but who has moved more and consequently experienced more. Churchill said, “to improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
JRR Tolkien wrote, “short cuts make long delays” so time-well-spent gaining experience rather than just time-served can well relate to time-well-saved. Experience is key to identifying when and where a corner may be cut, and we should remember that valuable time is often lost when taking short cuts. They may give the impression of more speed but it’s really just more haste as people recover the delays.
The Old and the Bold
“There are old pilots and bold pilots; but there are no old bold pilots!” goes the saying. Pilots learn from their own mistakes as well as those of others. Pilots know all too well that gravity, the great leveller, can cut short a short cut. Consequently, they know when, how and where a short cut may be taken based on experience rather than the application of boldness or brashness.
Experience is gained from failure but also knowing how to do something correctly. People often say that ‘Somebody failed miserably’ and it’s true that most people who fail at something will be miserable. However, seeing failure allows them to experience when the envelope has been pushed and when there is the onset of failure rather than any out-and-out collapse. The more one experiences then the closer to the edge one may go, but as my grandfather used to say, “you can go one far, but you can’t go too far.” One step beyond can put you beyond redemption.
However, we are all human beings and there will always be the risk seekers and the risk averse. Some people will always cut a corner or two to gain some form of advantage. However, if, or rather when, something goes wrong then some will learn from the lessons of the failure while others won’t. Fortunately, some greybeards will grow but for the others, and unfortunately, they will try and learn a new short cut to fix the old one.