Good versus great

I was 16. My dad asked me to drive him to a business dinner. Sure, I said. Okay, fine, I was really like "This is ridiculous. You want me to drive you to dinner and sit there." He offered me food. Good food. And oysters - on the half shell. Who can say no to that? Dinner in La Jolla with all the oysters I could eat for driving him 25 minutes each way. Deal.

I took him there. It was a group of orthodontists. These guys were the best in the country, or so I was told. One was my orthodontist. He fixed my teeth and got to use my mouth in his book. Yep, I have a famous mouth that is in a book about freaking orthodontics.

So I was listening to these guys talk and they all seemed nice enough. They were from all over the country and the dinner conversation blew - big time. But on the way home, I said to my dad "So, what makes the difference between a good orthodontist and these guys?" My dad thought about it for a minute and then said "Lets say a patient comes in at 4:45 and has a problem. The orthodontist has a dinner with his wife at 6. He can do a quick fix and make it to dinner or he can do the right fix, which will take longer, and be late for dinner. The good orthodontist does the quick fix. The great one does the right fix and is late for dinner." Hey, that's pretty simple, I thought. There isn't much difference between good and great.

My dad was probably right. He usually was. Still the smartest guy I ever knew. But, lately, I have learned there is more to it. The story applies to any profession - the plumber who can cap a pipe and fix it later or replace the pipe; the doctor who can draw blood for a blood test or send the patient to the lab; the lawyer who can file the motion and be late or put it off for another day; it goes on and on.

But there is more. What happens when the great orthodontist is faced with a patient who needs a simple fix for $50 or but could have a more complicated fix that will cost $950 and the orthodontist needs to pay the mortgage? Does he do the right fix for $50 or does he make it more complicated to charge more money? What would you do?

It is simple to sit here in theoretical terms and say "I would do the simple fix." But would you? What if the extra $900 was the difference between food on the table for your family or going to the food closet? Sit and think and you will find its harder than it looks.

So, there I sat last week. The mortgage is paid. There is food on the table. But I received a call from someone who might have needed an attorney. We talked. He really wanted to hire me. He thought he needed an attorney. I talked him out of it. Would the money have helped? Absolutely. Would it have been beneficial to my family? Yep. Would I take it? No.

I am not saying I am great. Hell, I am not sure I am good at this most of the time. But I had a choice to make. I made the choice that would let me sleep at night and know I did the right thing. I think my dad would have been proud of me. I hope he would be. It was the right decision. I think I got some strength from knowing I could have taken the money, but didn't. I did the right thing. That's enough for me.