Getting back on the horse gracefully....

[JustStunned]

Ahh Irish, savor it. I have a bottle of single malt aged in a Port wine cask I am currently savoring.

After we accept and forgive, then what? In my case I think the pendulum swung a little deeply in that direction, perhaps too deeply.

As a manager I need to hold people accountable and skills learned as a result of these experiences have improved how I do that. Still there are moments when I should assert myself more and those are pointed out from time to time.

Case in point, a few weeks ago my truck was loaded on a flatbed and driven home. When it arrived the tonneau cover was missing. It blew off on the highway when the airflow over the cab of the tow truck lifted the cover off the bed of my truck.

So the driver unloads my truck and I pointed out the missing tonneau cover. The driver apologizes and leaves. I didn’t tip him and accepted I would replace the cover. It was a five year old piece of vinyl; it was due for replacement in a year or so, no big deal. This was my path to acceptance.

Along comes DIL full of righteous indignation over the loss of the cover and insisting I should at least pursue remediation with the towing company. Rather vehemently in the manner of a Marine Corporal. Colorful language too, I could just hug her.

Sooo, I allowed myself to feel anger over the incompetence of the tow truck operator. When he loaded the truck I had expressed skepticism to him about its positioning on the flatbed and the stability of the load in general. He assured me he was a professional and had been to this rodeo before.

With that in mind a call was placed to the company seeking remediation. We kept it professional and positive. The upshot: They paid for the replacement at full value.

I called DIL the other day to let her know and to thank her for her encouragement. She’d still like to see the operator’s head displayed on a pike, but appreciated knowing the outcome and my acknowledgement of her participation.

Anger can be used to motive action. Controlling ourselves while angry, keeping actions positive and respectful yields better outcomes and looking back something I can live with.