The trip was a little less than five hours, so my wife and I drove to the workshop I was recently scheduled to give. Everything went smoothly until we got a flat about three and a half hours from home. At least I thought it was a flat.
Traffic was light when I pulled over to investigate the thumping disturbance. But the tires were round and plump. “Maybe it was road noise,” I told my wife as I pulled off the berm. But the hubbub started again.
I drove and listened like a person with diagnostic skills. In my wisdom I said, “It sounds like a flat,” and pulled off for a second time. To my disappointment the tires were still round.
I was less confident when I closed the driver-side door. “I can’t figure it out.” My wife began offering suggestions. This is never a good thing to do to a man with shriveling virility.
I pulled out for a third time. When you don’t know what’s wrong, keep doing the same thing. That’s my motto.
To my complete befuddlement the thrashing hadn’t magically fixed itself. To make a long story short, we had the car towed to a garage.
We arrived in an Uber about 20 minutes behind the vehicle that I had decided to trade-in for a new model. Surprisingly, a mechanic drove up behind us in OUR vehicle.
The Uber driver removed our luggage from his magnificent – brand new – SUV as I approached the mechanic. He said, “You’re good to go.” Obviously he was incompetent!
Before I could complain, he said, “The lug nuts were loose.”
If you’re wondering, it costs $60 each to tighten five lug nuts.
3 lessons:
- Big problems might not be big.
- Problems don’t magically fix themselves.
- Check for simple solutions before you trade-in your car.
What lessons do you see in the Lug Nut story?
Do you have a lug nut story?
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This post was previously published on Leadership Freak with a Creative Commons License.
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Photo credit: iStock
