When I was 23 my boss told me that I had a "keen sense of the obvious". This may seem a totally ridiculous thing to say or you may even think that he was messing with me... or even insulting me. Not the case. First I have to tell you that he is one of the smartest people that I have ever met and a true inspiration. I worked for him for many years and he remains my friend and mentor. Deek is a brilliant engineer with a photographic memory. He saw in me the ability to see things that others would only notice if they actually looked. He pointed out to me that I naturally had a skill that most people somehow had lost, forgotten or never developed. I had a acute ability to see, recognize and use information that most people ignored. An ability to listen to others tell stories and ingest wisdom from the old, having never actually had the experience. Although not a particularly great student, I was able to solve incredibly difficult problems because I would see solutions where no one else looked.
This comment was first said to me when I noticed that my mentor was distressed. This is a man who is not only highly intelligent but also has no ability to be idle. He was not only a senior executive to an international company but a father of three, husband, active in the church, a sports car enthusiast, always creating new business and owned and managed up to 50 private residences in his pass time. Deek was typically calm and even keeled with no abnormal sign of distress. One day I came in and found Deek with an uncomfortable manner about him. When I asked what was wrong he replied that he was fine and went about his day. Later in the day I again inquired and he indicated that he was being audited by the IRS. Although I knew Deek to be honest, he was just uncomfortable with the idea of being audited. I accepted that as an answer and went back to work. Approximately 2 weeks later I came in to find Deek extremely relaxed and back to his normal self. I inquired what made made the difference. He replied that he was concerned that some brilliant young accountant would get into his books and find something drastically wrong. He had awakened this morning with the realization that the IRS didn't employ any brilliant young accountants.
Over the years I have learned many things from Deek but I will always remember those things that we shared while we worked together. Deek had a glass top over his wooden desk where he kept special things. The one that I remember best was a note as follows:
A DOG WITH A NOTE COULD HAVE GOTTEN THE JOB DONE
I found this note in his handwriting particularly intriguing. When I asked Deek about the note he said that note is why you are here and your predecessor is not. My predecessor, a senior engineer, was assigned a job that did not get completed in a timely manner. Deek's boss was Fortune 100 board member, a 6'3" ex marine and a cigar smoker. The smell of cigars coming down the corridor made men run for cover and smart men look brilliant (immediately)! The story goes ... JB called Deek and my predecessor to his office asking about the status of my predecessors work. After a brief explanation of the situation, my predecessor was fired and by JB ... pointing his Esplendido into Deeks face saying " A ******* dog with a ******* note in his ******* mouth could have gotten the ******* job done. Deek never needed to hear that again but the note (less the expletives) remained on his desk until his retirement. He likely still has it today.
