I Solve Problems

January 7, 2010

In an absolute classic scene in Pulp Fiction, two gangsters, Jules and Vince, are driving with a passenger in the back seat. The car hits a bump, and Vince accidentally shoots the passenger in the head. This creates a big mess, as you can imagine.

Driving around in broad daylight in a blood-soaked car is a problem for gangsters.

They drive to a nearby friend's house to get off of the road. That friend's wife will be home soon and he wants Jules and Vince out of there ASAP.

Instead of working the situation out logically, they are paralyzed by panic; they see a problem and they throw their hands in the air and say, "I don't know what to do." Jules calls his boss, and his boss calls The Wolf.

The Wolf arrives and says, "I'm Winston Wolf. I solve problems." The Wolf asseses the situation, tells them to move the body to the trunk, clean the car, clean themselves, and leave; something they could have very well done on their own without having someone tell them to do it.



Well, that's me. I'm The Wolf -- both at work and at home.

Panic and irrationality are my enemies. I'm not immune to panic, but when it happens, I squash it real quick and start thinking rationally.

I'm also tremendously curious, but I don't ask questions -- I love to seek out answers for myself. That way, I feel like I've earned that knowledge, which means I'm much more likely to remember it.

I guess people notice those qualities, and think that I possess some higher wisdom than them.

That gets frustrating, but I've decided to embrace my role as The Wolf and see how that works out for me.

As Colin Powell said, "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them, or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of a relationship."