When you have a great hammer everything looks like a nail. When you are invested in a certain way of thinking, you tend to want to solve problems from that perspective. Surgeons like to cut, internists like to prescribe, and therapists like to do...well…therapy. It’s only natural, that’s what role specialization is all about. Still, this focus can create opacity to other, potentially useful, points of view.

I shudder when corporate denizens refer to the goods and services of their organization as “the product.” It’s so clinical and distant. It’s as if they are embarrassed by what it is. It’s like referring to “the wife” or “the kids,” a little denigrating but mostly indifferent.

Our family and some friends were spending the afternoon paddling on the pristine Buffalo River in rural Arkansas. While canoeing is the main activity, it is fueled by snacks and perhaps a few adult beverages. We were pulled up on the shore swimming in the shallows and catching minnows when two uniformed officers paddled their canoe over to us. The universal response to this setting is anxiety.