Chapter 6
The Trader's Toolbox
Tools are designed to make jobs easier and workers more productive. The ultimate goal is to make the job more profitable. Some tools are better than others, and then there are those tools that can actually be counterproductive.
Recently, my youngest son Bobby and I participated in a Boy Scout service project. The troop was building a three-sided, covered structure called an Adirondack at a campsite in memory of a father of a scout who had recently passed away. The only requirement was to bring a hammer and a desire to help. I found my tools—a hammer for me and a hammer for Bobby—and headed to the camp.
Upon arriving at the site, the project foreman, who also happened to be a professional builder, took one look at the hammers in my hand, smirked and said “You can put your hammers back in your car. I would prefer not to have to take you or Bobby to the hospital for treatment.”
Apparently, a hammer is not a hammer anymore. My hammers were wooden handled, which made them susceptible to breaking, especially if they were old and dried out like the ones I was carrying. The newer models are lighter, have handles made of composite material, and have bigger heads so that fewer fingers get smashed.
The tools I had were not only inferior, they were potentially dangerous. It could have been counterproductive if a finger was smashed or a flying hammer head hit an unsuspecting worker (or me).
Traders need a well-stocked toolbox as well. Like the hammers of today, ...
