SNWJ: More Than a Hammer, Not Always A Nail
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More Than A Hammer, Not Always A Nail
John Paul Derryberry
"To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." -- Mark Twain
My best friend, Kyle, annoyingly quotes this to me whenever we are dissecting a multi-layered problem. He has repeated this line so much I can picture how he contorts his face to look extra smart while quoting Mark Twain. It makes my eyes roll just thinking about the smerky look on his face when he works his favorite line into our conversations. The conundrum I face in bringing this up today, is that I know he is right. Most people view a difficult problem through their best lens, their most refined skill, or through the best trait they offer the world. But by admitting this, my best friend will rub that in my face when he reads this blog.
Think about when you go ask people for advice and then add in their background. If you ask an educator what is stopping you from achieving your goal, they will reply with, lack of education or knowledge. If you ask a member of the faith community, they will reply that you are not close enough to God. If you ask a business person, it will be a lack of funds. If you ask a therapist, it will be some internal emotional struggle, and if you ask a social worker, we will answer that society is not set up for everyone to have access to goal achievement. Everyone’s answer will be more nuanced and detailed depending on their life experiences and the specific question you posed. But we all know their answer will fall within their area of expertise, what they are passionate about, and what they believe.
However, life’s dilemmas are more complicated than that, and, we are all more than nails. If one solution worked for life’s problems we would not have a such a diverse field of jobs. Sometimes it is a lack of funds, but we know money does not solve everything. Sometimes it is an emotional struggle, but we know some people use emotions as a crutch. Sometimes it is society that has made it harder on certain groups to succeed, but we can point to others who have risen up from those same circumstances. We can go down the list of solutions and excuses and come up with a smelly laundry list of rusty nails to hammer away at. That’s not the point Mark Twain or my best friend, Kyle, are trying to make.
We approach problems as hammers because, if the skill that we honed over countless hours of practice does not fix the problem, what does that say about our existence? Solving problems for others is not about us. Better leaders, and those who come up with creative solutions, push past their best skills and realize they need a toolbox full of hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, and drills to solve problems. The best leaders ask for help when their skill set doesn’t solve the problem, because it’s not about them showing the world, look at me swing my hammer. It’s about building a solid solution.