I am blogging everyday (or nearly everyday) on The Daily Stoic.

We’re not as smart or wise as we think we are. I have to fight my own biases. I often play out scenarios in my head or plan for things to go smoothly and they often don’t. There is and always will be chaos in a plan. This is a military expectation, nothing goes according to plan. The D-Day landing of Normandy had lots and lots of missteps, yet it still succeeded because the proper preparation and training was put in place to succeed.

I got my first job as a bagger at base commissary. Talk about Chaos. You never knew what was coming down the belt to be bagged and you had to be ready to adjust quickly. We only worked on tips and you never knew who was going to give you five bucks for one bag or 50 cents for two shopping carts full of groceries. I learned very quickly how to operate in this environment and I think it’s helped me throughout my career.

Today, I get frustrated when things don’t go as planned. I think a lot of that is ego and I’m starting to recognize and adjust my way of thinking. I have my guys running with a lot of projects now and I see my role as guiding them through some of the potential pitfalls and explaining why they might be pitfalls.