week 15: stay cool

Boy, boy, crazy boy
Get cool, boy
Got a rocket in your pocket
Keep coolie cool boy

Uh, what does this have to do with the usual theme pieces for Mondays? Well, it's a song that's been on my mind for whatever reason and it's very important to stay cool on the job. Sure, it's not specific to the oil and gas industry, but it can certainly be the difference between a job well done and a more costly and less well done one.

On Friday, we hit a hitch (as I will so euphemistically put it) early on in the job right as we were starting to bring cement onto the pump. The hitch turned into two problems that could have become more problematic, but a responsive crew didn't panic and we were back into the job within 10 minutes. I've taken some flak since I was supervising that job, but since we got it fixed and finished well, it's something that we get ribbed about now. But we could've been flustered and let a small problem become a big one and have to deal with consequences of that whether it be a poorly completed job or perhaps one that wasn’t finished at all.

I know people that I simply wouldn't trust to stay calm in the face of an unforeseen circumstance. Anyone who went to college recently (or perhaps ever) knows one of the kind of people I mean. The kind of people who freak out every time a test is around the corner or a project is due. Either you know you're prepared or you're not. You'll finish by the due date or you won't. When test time comes, either you know the answer or you don't. It's just a test, not the ultimate measure of your worth as a human being. So just relax, think the situation through, and figure out the best course of action. It could keep someone from getting hurt one day.