Precursors of Consequence“Leadership”

A persistent, unresolved topic in the infancy of the urgent focus on the drilling industry is well containment and the emerging discipline of process safety during the drilling and completion of oil and gas wells. There is interest in knowing if there are leading indicators of the safety of our operations and yet few proclamations of any valid examples. Part of the reason of why this is so is both the lacking in our industry of sufficient interest and focus on this subject and the complexity of subject matters that must be mastered in order to develop such indicators. The driving cause behind this lack of interest and focus is the subject of this chapter in my installments of thoughts on engineering management of the most complex and dangerous well construction projects and true leadership and the precursors of consequence in this endeavor.

First of all let’s examine aspects of national culture that we may agree pertain precisely to driving forces, motivations, behaviors, actions, and ethics (what we believe is right and wrong) that may be the driving force behind our industry and the unintended consequences of their ignorance in lack of leadership in the most complex and dangerous operational teams that explore and develop the fields of our future. Our industry’s developments have been lead by nations with cultural traits that innovate and take risks in the face of uncertainty and unknown “worst cases”, in exploring and developing the most accessible and cheapest to develop fields of the past using a “do, hope and mitigate” mindset and yet do not lend themselves to key mindsets needed in order to explore and develop in the most complex and dangerous situations we will be facing more and more as these easier and cheaper to develop fields are depleted luxuries of the past. Examples of the “do, hope and mitigate” mindset can be seen from the Spindletop Field, to the deepwater arena, where at Spindletop the wells were allowed to essentially “blow out” and then oil was contained within “berms” built around the derrick and the oil pool was collected and hauled away to sales. This of course would not meet any of the most lacking standards of today and yet it is still the model by which our industry has been “following” lagging standards of operation and the “do, hope and mitigate” mindset. We also see most recently that our operations have been “do, hope and mitigate” mindset following the recent discovery that even though industry experts had announced in industry technical articles that the danger of drilling in deepwater was the uncontrollable and prolonged blowout. How easily these warnings are ignored are a tribute to the explorer instinct and focus on the “do, hope and mitigate” mindset that acts where other more “uncertainty adverse” mindsets do not, and this mindset should be applauded as a first step to commit to act facing uncertainty and is clearly an advantage to cultures that are adverse to explore because of the uncertainty. Yet we move above and beyond this mindset, to include the explorer spirit and subjugate it to the leadership spirit and mindset that uses the wisest leadership principles and looks to measure and manage leading indicators and apply this to themselves and their organizations that is the essence of the focus on the Precursors of Consequence. Even more so today we are looking at and developing lagging indicators and mitigations and this is the way of strong appetites for uncertainty that have defined the corporate cultures that have brought us here, and must be applauded, and yet will not get us there, to the future full of the most difficult, complex and dangerous projects. In the past we, as an industry, have for the most part skipped over projects involving the deepest of water locations and the sourest of oil and gas reserves with preference for the easier and cheaper alternatives and yet today we are faced with the need to explore and develop in these areas and the good news is we have the technology and the leaderships wisdom right before us and we merely need the discipline of process safety leadership to include them. In order to develop the healthiest of safety culture in the projects with the highest levels of interactive

complexity and tightest coupling we must develop that highest levels of leadership, knowledge, understanding and wisdom and relegate our mitigation based safety programs to a lower tier in the safety pyramid. Leading indicators of consequence; "precursors of consequence" are simply the operational envelope as referred to in other industries. In the above Mach 1 flight operational industry this is referred to as the “flight envelope”. Our industry esteemed Dr. Andrew Hopkins cited in his recent article “Why Safety Cultures Don’t Work”, to an air traffic control term known as “maintaining separation". Its not “too simple” to conclude that “leading” means using leading indicators and following means focusing too much on lagging indicators and yet it is strongly asserted that they are exactly appropriately named and safety leadership must lead by prevention and leading indicators and move away from mitigation based safety programs. It’s a delicate balance that’s most important and yet prevention is a focus on the operational envelope that must balance a margin safely between loads and our resistance to them. It’s focusing on things right before us and akin to personal safety issues of how our fingers and toes are interacting with loads, and obstacles while we perform routine operations and yet first and foremost, in the realm of planning interactively complex and tightly coupled operations, and building and managing the teams that are executing them safely in real time. So many lagging indicators are being pursued, very well in fact (WCD designs, capping stacks maintained and ready for use, etc.), that they have become distractions in their simplicity and tendency to focus blame for the incidents on frontline company men and “bungling” in general by the “culprits” that the frontline worker become in the hearts and minds of the “in group” away from the frontline, in management. And mitigating their "failure to follow" (lagging errors) rather than addressing their own immediate shore based operational and engineering "leadership" becomes the norm and the frontline worker is viewed as a dangerous component of an otherwise perfect system rather than the reason their imperfect system works perfectly most of the time. This additional mitigational “arsenal” is a good thing, if companies continue to have these types of blowouts, yet not if they distract focus from "leading" indicators to "lagging" consequences, as this is foolish and dangerous of course. The fact that many asked to follow this logic and agree it is true will not, should only be a further sign of how detrimental the conclusions, of the US Department of Justice indictments of company men minus even the slightest implications of shore based leadership, has been to learning the true lessons needed to avoid the type organizational accidents in the future. Prevention based leadership is focus on our margins and remaining within operational boundaries and mitigation is always from drifting outside of them. We should not spin the fact that boundless operations and the myriad mitigations are safe simply because of low incidence because of the high cost and more importantly because it is not leadership. The fact is that the handling of the “mitigation” based investigation of the Macondo incident is bizarre and even schizophrenic because the US Justice system is pursuing indictments and fines that are aimed at BOTH the frontline workers and organizational causes yet not leadership and with neither the intent nor the diligence necessary to remove the veil of obscurity that engineering management hides comfortably behind in these weakest cultures while the government attorneys can only wish to bring cases against them and must instead go after the easier cases of prosecuting defenseless frontline workers left dangling before them by authories in the same corporation. Is the problem with the frontline worker (the followers), or the engineering management (the supposed leaders), and how can it be both? Even if it is a little of both how can this ambivalent focus be resolved in this way without careful examination of the leadership and procedural compliance aspects of the precursors to the accidents in a situational, instead of attributional scope? We may all wax poetic for “the day we can actually have accountability” in the leadership of the operations in the most individualistic cultures and even legislate attempts to hold key leaders accountable with signatures (Well Containment Plans must be signed by a manager now because of new rules in 30 CFR 250 Subpart D), and document courses of actions and responsibilities and yet until we can sort through this veil of obscurity of the inner workings of the precursors of consequence, that define

true leadership, in creating and maintaining corporate culture we are managing by mitigation of our boundless lack of discipline in focus and efforts. This ambivalent opinion of the causes of this type accident is common in these type cultures that have a strong sense of individual responsibility and it is furthermore suggested that some cultures are more susceptible to this type of organizational leadership and communication failure than others, for example the more "individualistic" cultural trait as highlighted by Geert Hofstede, in his world renowned studies on culture and its implications on safety, and the "attributional" culture as highlighted by Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford. It seems the highly "individualistic" cultures may have tendencies towards both "defects" and be highly prone to these types of organizational failures in leadership, learning, communication and effortful focus on the matter close at hand that are the precursors of consequence. Individualism tends towards challenges in true communication and coupled with low PDI can lead to further disparate silos of information, communication, and decentralization of organization command structure, again, cited by Dr. Hopkins as key to the recent organizational accidents in our industry. Also, the most individualistic cultures are more prone to the “unjust” culture as opposed to the “just” culture that examines accidents and incidents in light of the situation instead of moving too quickly and subjectively to blame of the “individual” (fundamental attribution error), responsible for procedural compliance of designs of engineering and operational leadership teams usually sitting in the ivory towers miles away from the dangers on the frontline. Unfortunately, blaming individuals for organizational failures has no effect other than to further polarize individuals from a sense of loyalty and duty to the group as a whole and further complicates communications, order, responsibility and the reliability of the group as a whole. Transparency and openness most necessary in the healthy function of teams of engineers, mechanics, technicians and operational team members is compromised by the very nature of the isolating and threatening nature of the way these cultures learn lessons, or rather, do not learn them. The 10 countries lowest in UAI in the world are western countries deeply involved in the oil business and the top three, UK, US, and Australia, comprised the organizational personnel involved in Macondo and Montaro. Low UAI in those countries has served those cultures well in terms of innovation and yet has dangerous implications if this cultural trait is not managed and is ignored by engineering operations management. Coupling the highly individualistic cultural traits with low Power Distance Indices (PDI in Hofstede's studies) can lead to a breakdown in supervision and guidance and sever the ties necessary for frontline workers to be encouraged to "stop work" and call in for guidance and support from engineering vital during the most complex operations. In fact some of the interesting discussion surrounding the spectrum of cultural traits in regards to PDI seem eerily close to the causes of organizational failure at Macondo by Professor Hopkins in his book and reports. For example low PDI can result in:

Expect to encounter less centralized and even de-centralized organizations, divisions, departments, teams and decision-making

Expect a high degree of delegation Expect subordinates to take initiative If unforeseen things happen, frontline workers are less inclined to first go to their

direct boss to ask for instruction before acting Expect your work to not be inspected by a team leader from a low PDI culture.

Probably the worst thing that could be added to a culture naturally laden with the issues described above would be a tendency to disregard uncertainty and yet if we look at both extremes of the spectrum of Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) we most certainly would expect a statement such as, “It will probably be okay”, to be immediately and diligently challenged and only be accepted in a culture of extremely low uncertainty avoidance and yet a careful look at Hofstede’s research shows the British culture of BP to be amongst the lowest

UAI of all nations; bottom 6 in fact. Naturally some will claim the accident was the fault of American front line workers yet keep in mind that the US is in the bottom 12 in UAI also. So there really is nowhere to run and hide on this issue. Is it any wonder then, after learning of these facts of the national cultural traits of the UK that their Long Term Orientation (LTO) index is amongst the lowest (4th lowest value) in the world? Of course not since that combination of traits is not sustainable so it would make since that sustainability is not a high priority. The point isn’t to use cultural traits as condemnation and yet to measure the prevalent cultural traits that exist in order to prevent the mishaps that are bound to happen otherwise and put the onus on management and not frontline workers effectively carrying out orders. In light of these cultural facts BP’s management should definitely endeavor to recognize and aggressively balance this national cultural trait with preventative measures especially while working in a nation with equally low numbers on a certain cultural trait. The campaigns are in full gear and the platitudes abound with more safety slogans and assurances than ever before and yet if developing a safety culture is of prime importance truly Hofstede’s work in this area should be fresh and foremost in the minds of managers of the dangerous operations most in need of preventative measures that facilitate prevention based management.

The recipe for disaster in incidents at Macondo and Montara were organizational and specifically cultural and so these cultural indices must be carefully understand well first before hoping to master them. Chasing after lagging indicators and having such weak bonds "collectively" to those on the front line at the sharp end of the organizational hazard is the antithesis of leadership in safety and must be recognized before there is even hope of improvement. In the most complex operations is where lagging mitigation based management fails and where preventative based mitigation must begin with preventative measures before preventative management is even remotely possible.

Perhaps the strongest reason that organizations fail to lead and therefore resort to following lagging indicators and essentially “chasing their own tails” is in the lack of understanding of how to manage the most important things that comprise the precursors of consequence in these highly interactively complex and tightly coupled design teams and operations. We only need to simply ask ourselves, “how can we predict performance while operating without looking at consequences that are essentially lagging indicators or how we are doing things?” to understand that research and development in these regards is both insufficient and not oft even considered. The fact that engineering management ranks are often devoid of any specifically disciplined focus on the particular nuances of management of complex engineering projects and mostly consist of nothing more nor different than MBA management programs focusing on performance controls that have been widely in use in our industry for far too long already. Namely, the days versus depth curve that is tightly coupled with the Cost versus Days curve that is compared against the benchmark of past, lagging, performances of other projects that usually are completely different to the current project in vitally important specific areas and used as a management control to the horror of observers of the distracting effect this type of engineering management has on the focus of engineering teams. How then do we manage the most important leading indicators of performance in our work and do we even have a clue to the nature of this components? The short answer is that up until now there is nothing done in this regards and there is little to know science except for a relative few that we will discuss shortly. We need only look at the definitions of risk in our industry to understand how little has been done and how confused we seem to be on the actual subject of risk and the components that actually comprise this most important parameter and component of our industry. We can list the various equations and proponents of them and debate this yet it makes little difference to these facts of lacking. Einstein said, Risk = Consequence x Probability yet consequence is a lagging indicator and probability is based on past performances and other estimations of the future and

therefore this simple equation suffers from both. If we remove “Probability” entirely from the equation and focus our efforts at leadership on defining the components of “Consequence” in this equation or as the title portrays, “Precursors of Consequence”, we can act at the origins of leadership and truly lead. What are the “Precursors of Consequence”? Precursors of consequence of been defined in the history of risk management hazard awareness precursors of consequence or exposure to hazard and susceptibility to hazard is the epiclipse of these two realms and the area in which they coincide and overlap. This is the “breakdown of separation” that Dr. Hopkins referred to and the is pushing beyond the “envelope” in the lingo of super Mach flight operations. Consequences result in essence to maintenance of separation between the load and resistance and hazards and poor consequences emerge from their epiclipse. More simply, in medical terms, Consequence = Dosage x Susceptibility, in the term dosage could be diligently broken down further into exposure level because we can be given a dose and we are more or less exposed to its effects based on issues like dilution or proximity. So in terms of radiation Consequence = Hazard Exposure x Hazard Level x Susceptibility to Hazard. So the operational envelope IS the precursors of consequence. In order to LEAD in engineering we must manage the precursors of consequence, yet this isn’t as simple as an equation. In order to lead the precursors of consequence we must first know what the precursors of consequence are. In engineering precursors of consequence, the operational envelope, is typically load versus resistance. Yeah we must be exposed to the load that our structures are not exposed to we do not have to resist the concept of exposure were exposed to load and are structures must resist our exposure to the load. Similarly the wellbore we drill in order to construct a well is also exposed to natural loads of the earth mainly as pore pressure and in situ stresses. Our buffers and margins and susceptibilities are intricately intertwined and going into the complications of our natural, physical and human barriers isn’t the point of this chapter or Precursors of Consequence and yet it is that we must manage our FOCUS on precisely these Precursors of Consequence because from these precursors hazard itself emerges. The concept of the Tactical Triangle is used in sports performance and it manages the thoughts and efforts of the athlete. The concept focuses on three elements: Consciousness, Sub-consciousness and Confidence; conscious effort, subconscious effort and the leading indicator of confidence rather than the lagging indicator of confidence (let’s leave that to explain in more detail later on). Our skillsets and the detailed steps we perform routinely can be distracting to the conscious focus we must maintain on detecting flaws in the system an namely that is, as we just explained before, the precursors of consequence or the operational envelope that is our exposure and resistance to loads and the hazards that emerge from any “breakdown in separation” between these two. Just as when a teenager drives, the insurance companies know they are at high risk since the beginning driver has not yet put the actual mechanical and coordination skills of turning the steering wheel and moving the feet for the gas pedal and to apply the precise amount of pressure to the break into the subconscious so that their conscious effort can be focused on the efforts required to maintain “separation” between their car and others including also between the lines comprising driving lanes, curbs, stop signs, traffic signals and maps and other necessary cognitive loads all distracting from the most important focus in safety; the operational envelope of keeping separation between loads and resistance or in driving this is keeping distance between our car and other objects. Yes, we have mitigations like bumpers and safety belts and traffic statistics yet everyone knows that leadership is the best prevention in traffic safety and focus on the flight envelope that includes the physical limits of the car we drive, the lack of predictability of the environment around our car, and the complex interactivity of us and them, as well as our ability to focus on maintaining the “separation” or “margin” during moments of higher cognitive loads like during merging to other lanes in turnpikes on freeways, or in busy intersections or even in crowded parking lots. In these environments a screaming child, loud radio or a text message can be the tipping point that moves our “cognitive load” into the epiclipse with our “cognitive capability” or “ability”. Experience understands that cognitive

loads and resistance are as vital as physical loads and resistance. The physical barriers of the wellbore are the hydrostatic and the BOPE controls and yet humans maintain both and thus both are susceptible to the cognitive operational envelope of cognitive load and resistance. This is a lot to digest and yet this is where our CONSCIOUS focus must be on projects. Our subconscious must be busy doing the actual routines elements of our jobs like turning the steering wheel and stepping on the brake. Confidence in our process is believing that if we focus our efforts on these items closely, instead of the outcome, the result will be satisfactory. This concept may not be perfectly clear until we consider the difference in performance controls of the MBA style and these precursors of consequence. Focusing on outcome oriented, lagging indicators, is in direct contrast to focusing on process oriented, leading indicators, and is the goal of explaining sufficiently to be completely understood in this chapter.

So now the we have defined one element of leadership by focusing on the precursors of consequence we must also delve diligently into understanding that in order to manage and lead we must measure focus and effort and direct both. Management may be to measure and yet leadership is to manage and direct efforts, and focus and to build and maintain teams that are competent in skills and adequate in experience and energy so as to be able to focus conscious efforts on the operational envelopes and perform routine duties in the subconscious and maintain confidence in the process. This may be complex yet it is much more clearly linked to improvements in performance and leadership than tracking lagging indicators and campaigns to win over the hearts and minds of frontline workers with platitudes and slogans than win over neither the minds nor hearts since they have no practical significance to the duties in the line of sight of the worker’s conscious nor subconscious efforts and even less significance to their confidence in the system.

So now we have discussed the need to lead and the things that must be led and these are efforts and focus and confidence. Confidence is a sales job yet we must lead a culture by creating processes that inspire confidence and not the other way around. People know when we are involved in a process that will work. At times we may need this explained and then we can see directly that the process is practical and effective and exactly the precursor of success.

Managing effort

   This whole concept of “managing effort” might better be summarized for engineers as “Engineering Effort Vectors”. As explained before we must not only measure effort in order to manage it we must lead effort by directing it as well. This is summarized as “measuring effort scalars” and involves a concept that students about to entire the job market are all to aware of and employers need to become more savvy on and consciously effortful in distinguishing themselves and their recruits in. Engineers know a scalar quantity if without direction and this is the best way to measure effort and let’s break this down and explain both why this is significant and how this may be done. Effort in the wrong direction is as bad as no effort at all or even worse. Companies that hire based on GPA are not getting the most diligent assessment of the effort and focus scalar since they are only getting a superficial measure of effort, focus, discipline and diligence vectors. Four components that are not necessarily considered are that:

1. School is effort focused on the goals of the student, namely to get good grades and a good job and speak nothing to the ability of the student or person that will be asked to commit themselves to the goal of the employer. This change in direction may or may not be assessed by coursework that is done based on

selfish goals of the student. Simply put, grades do not measure the cultural trait of “individualistic” versus “collectivistic” nature or desire to subvert goals from selfish, or individualistic intent to those of a larger group. And there is evidence that this is not only cultural and yet also more motivational and contrived. Only an effort “vector” is assessed and there is no evidence of the effort “scalar” that can be directed in a superficial assessment of a candidate engineer based solely on performance in school.

2. School is effort that is focused by the teacher and the curriculum and the student is instructed what to read, what exercises to do, and what will be covered on the test so the students ability to self focus efforts, or create his/her own effort vector is not necessarily assessed by grades in school. Only a focus “vector” is assessed and there is no evidence of the focus “scalar” that can be directed in a superficial assessment of a candidate engineer based solely on performance in school.

3. Namely discipline is the ability to focus efforts correctly without guidance beyond personal experience and scholarship. Operational envelopes can become unstructured and nebulous and requires diligent, effortful focus and confidence in order to maintain discipline and school and grades simply do not necessarily assess this. Only a discipline vector is assessed and there is no evidence of the discipline scalar, that is more character based, that can be directed in a superficial assessment of a candidate engineer based solely on performance in school.

4. Diligence is a measure of an effort over time and teachers that will more often than not set into the curriculum and instruction to students as to “how deeply” to investigate concepts and ideas also direct space and in fact the textbook is the basic limit to the amount of diligence required. While the students diligence to do the reading and study is a measure of the diligence vector the assessment is limited in both direction and scope since this is dictated to the student generally.

5. Confidence is generally the only scalar quantity that is clearly a result of a college education and that is because repeatedly the student is shown that focused and effortful study results in good outcomes. This is true confidence as opposed to superficial arrogance and is fierce determination in humble efforts here and now with confidence in an undetermined outcome at a later space and time.

Clearly we see the need to assess scholars on the scalar level (precursory to directed effort) in order to distinguish effort scalars that can be given direction and focus scalars that can be directed to focus on requirements and discipline and diligence to be able to self direct diligent focus on their duty level and this is key to their ability to not be distracted from a focus on the operational envelope of the duty they are charged with. Grades are effort vectors, focus vectors and do not necessarily assess the two most important parameters of success diligence and discipline. We must work hard to find and hire effort, focus, discipline and diligence scalars (scholars) that can be employed, directed, supported and relied upon by diligently distinguishing between the notions of leading and lagging indicators.

Red Adair is quoted as saying, “If you think a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur”. A similar wise tale goes like this, “A consultant is hired to fix a complex system and the man shows up in a finely tailor suit and after carefully looking over the facility he walks over to a specific component, takes out a tiny hammer and carefully and gentle pings a spot on a panel and the entire system begins working. The entire process takes only a minute or two. The consultant details his $100,000 bill as follows:

Hammer to strike panel $50

Time to strike panel $50

Knowing where to strike $99,900

Thank you for your repeat business!”

Both stories relate to the importance of “directed focus and effort”. Direction makes scalar effort and scalar focus, vectors. Our processes must measure, direct and thus create focus vectors and effort vectors.

A quick note on the component of diligence as it relates to engineering effort, performance, safety and ultimately success and its contrast to the unfortunate byproduct of focus on lagging indicators of performance control mainly used in engineering management in the past and the fact that a popular book of wisdom is quoted from as saying, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to waste”, and in essence putting “Diligence and Haste” as polar opposites and thus this note is highlighting the importance of diligence and suggesting that diligence itself combines the scalar quantities we’ve just discussed, effort, focus, direction, and discipline, into one concept. Another wise saying is, “Wisdom is before the understanding one yet the fool looks to the ends of the earth”. Now, firstly there is a component of both space and time in that saying. The “ends of the earth” is in reference to the boundaries created as the earth revolves and “races” around its rotational axis and also time as our time system is in fact precisely and exactly how long this takes. There is a no more clearly, simply and widely disseminated statement of safety and leadership principles than this. The operational envelop contains the leading indicators of our leadership and we must focus on these, measure them and manage them to maintain our operational safety margin and prevent the breakdown in separation between our operations and the “envelope” that protects them. This couples nicely with the previous statement on “haste” and reinforces that a focus on time and outcome is the polar opposite of the local focus in time and space on “diligent” “efforts” here and now before us. Instead of focusing on outcome and the time aspects of money and there existence at the “ends of the earth” in time and space management must “control” using confidence measures. Yet there is more if we now circle back and re-examine another Hofstede principle cultural trait that has the two extremes of “modesty” and “assertiveness/aggression”. One aspect of this trait is seen as a “time is money” attitude that has a hint of “hurry up” in it, or a “damn the torpedoes” attitude, coupled with a less than clear objective of a focus on outcome rather than the efforts that effect an outcome can lead to disaster. Another component of a high

“assertiveness/aggression” cultural trait is that people focus on excelling and aspiring after personal success; this makes real cooperation between the team members difficult. Expect team members to self-promote and spotlight their personal performance. Competion between team members is common; don’t expect genuine cooperation.

Confidence in our operations is a strong function of diligent efforts focused on precursors of consequence. Confidence is likewise completely defined in regards to its control function in leadership and process by a saying, “Do right and have confidence (exact quote needed)” yet “lean not on our own understanding” this implies to be confident yet not that we know everything yet that if we keep value the “collective” wisdom of history and people around the world (time and space) and keep open minds, value cooperation, and consultation with others, and diligently focus efforts on the precursors of consequence closest in front of us we should be confident. From experience, many find this is precisely true and in fact the only way to have and maintain true confidence in our corporations and move above and beyond campaign slogans that are superficial, mitigation based, and essentially “con artistry”. “One who is slack in his work is the master of destruction”. Again, the principle of “effort vector” of Dr. Dweck, “effort” focused on “one’s work”, is indicated as “wisdom” and a leadership value. The detailed proof of this leadership concept is not “far fetched”, yet precisely the opposite, it is closest at hand in space and time, and can and will be presented in due time by others amongst us or even by myself, if it is desired.

Boundless focus

Focus on performance over efforts

Basing risk on performance over efforts

The ways of limitlessness (mitigation based)

Spin Doctoring of haste (explaining mitigations away based on duplicitous rationalization)

Within bounds

   Balance is simply the space between upper and lower bounds the middle is safest and balance can have width and it's called buffer or margin this is the loci of foci this is the operational envelope we must focus our conscious efforts on since the epiclipse of hazard emerges here and now.

Too much effort with no distance or insight vision is on the same level as much distance or insight with less effort; we must optimize and work in the balance and widen it's margins this is the focus of engineering management optimization

Seems simple yet big deal since effort versus superficiality is like elliptical: 2 categories: distance. Effort

Who is right?  The fact is in engineering it's effort that is necessary for work thoughts invoke mental effort that is metaphysical whereas physical work involves both.  So there is a place for distance yet twice important is effort.  Dr carol Dweck says

 Distance is lagging effort can be measured here and now and is therefore leading 

So you see effort is worth and effort management IS LEADERSHIP

Grades are effort vectors

We must work hard to find and hire effort scalars and diligently distinguish between the two notions Lagging mitigation based and leading prevention based management by diligent effort in preventative measures and this means measuring leading indicators and not simply making rules that prevent nothing.

Proverbs (Forward; verbs connote action words; this is the definition of leading actions with wisdom; precursors of consequence)

1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

1:10-16 My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent; if they say, "Come with us; let us lie in wait for blood; let us hide for the innocent, without cause; let us swallow them up alive like the grave, and the whole ones like those who descend into the pit. We will find all precious possessions; we will fill our houses with plunder. Cast your lot among us; we will all have one purse my son, do not go on the way with them; restrain your foot from their path, for their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed blood. (unjust culture “in group” that cultivates the injustice using the fundamental attribution error and making sure this principle is disseminated so they can cut the costs of the diligent planning without regard to cost so the “out group” the frontline workers can be blamed for all accidents)

2:7-15 He lays up sound wisdom for the upright, a shield for those who walk in integrity; to keep the paths of justice, and watch the way of His pious. Then you shall understand righteousness, justice, and equity, every good path. When wisdom comes into your heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant to your soul, thought shall watch over you; discretion shall guard you, to save you from an evil way. From a man who speaks perversity; [from] those who forsake the ways of uprightness, to go on ways of darkness; [from] those who rejoice to do evil (operate without focus on the operational envelope) and delight in the perversity of evil (delight in how “lucky” they are to be successful despite the due diligence and process of effortful, vigilant focus on the

operational envelope), who are crooked in their ways and perverse in their paths.

3:1-35 My son, forget not My instruction, and may your heart keep My commandments; for they shall add length of days and years of life and peace to you. Kindness and truth shall not leave you; bind them upon your neck (self discipline, effort, diligence), inscribe them upon the tablet of your heart; and find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely upon your understanding. Do not be wise in your own sight; fear the Lord and turn away from evil (boundless operational focus; distraction from the bounds of the operational envelope), it shall be healing for your navel and marrow for your bones. Honor the Lord from your substance and from the first of all your grain, and your barns shall be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, despise not the discipline of the Lord, and do not abhor His chastening, or the Lord chastens the one He loves, as a father placates a son. Fortunate is the man who has found wisdom and a man who gives forth discernment, for its commerce is better than the commerce of silver, and its gain [is better] than fine gold; it is more precious than pearls, and all your desirable things cannot be compared to it. Length of days is in its right hand; in its left hand are riches and honor. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace. It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and those who draw near it are fortunate. The Lord founded the earth with wisdom, established the heavens with discernment. With His knowledge the depths were split, and the heavens drip dew. My son, let them not depart from your eyes; guard sound wisdom and thought, and they shall be life for your soul, and grace for your neck. Then you shall go securely on your way, and your foot shall not stumble. If you lie down, you shall not fear, and when you lie down, your sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden terror, or of the darkness of the wicked when it will come. For the Lord shall be your trust, and He shall keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from the one who needs it when you have power in your hand to do it. Do not say to your fellow, "Go and return, and tomorrow I will give," though you have it with you. Devise no harm against your fellow, when he dwells securely with you. Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, if he did you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways; for the perverse is an abomination to the Lord, but His counsel is with the upright. The curse of the Lord is in the wicked man's house, but He shall bless the dwelling of the righteous. If to the scoffers, he will scoff; but to the humble, he evokes grace. The wise shall inherit honor, but the fools take disgrace as their portion.

4:7 The beginning of wisdom [is to] acquire wisdom, and with all your possession acquire understanding.

4:13 Take fast hold of discipline, do not let it loose; guard it, for it is your life.

4:25-27 Let your eyes look forward, and let your eyelids look straight ahead of you. Weigh the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Turn neither right nor left; keep your feet from evil.

6:16-18 There are six things that the Lord hates, and the seventh is an abomination of

His soul; Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that

thinks thoughts of violence; feet that hasten to run to evil; one who] speaks lies with

false testimony and incites quarrels among brothers.

6:6-8 Go to the ant, you sluggard; see her ways and become wise, for she has no chief, overseer, or ruler; yet she prepares her bread in the summer; she gathers her food in the harvest, for she has no chief, overseer, or ruler; (Discipline vector; or Self Discipline)

:9 Better is he who is lightly esteemed but is a slave to himself than one who is honored but lacks bread.

8:10 Take my discipline and not silver; knowledge is chosen above gold.

8:13 Fear of the Lord is to hate evil, haughtiness, pride, the way of evil, and a perverse mouth; [these] I hate.

8:18 Riches and honor are with me, powerful wealth and charity. (Choose discipline and knowledge before gold and silver and yet get powerful wealth and charity that is better; or both; the point is operations must be focused on understanding and operational envelope and the discipline to stay within it instead of the prize at the end; no matter what and trust the outcome will be great)

8:12 In the way of righteousness I will go, in the midst of the paths of justice (inside the operational envelope)

8:24 I was created when there were yet no deeps, when there were no fountains replete with water. (arrogant engineers think they know more than the wisdom of God that was here before deepwater?)

8:32 And now, my children, hearken to me, and fortunate are those who observe my ways. (the ways inside the operational envelope.

10:17 The one keeps discipline preserves life, but he who forsakes reproof misleads.

14:8 The wisdom of a cunning man is to understand his way, but the folly of the fools is deceit. (measures his way; pre-drill operational loads in casing design fully measured)

14:10 One's heart knows the bitterness of his soul, and in his joy no stranger shall mingle. (painstaking efforts preclude those that simply want glory without the effort; superficiality; fixed mindsets)

14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is ways of death. (we must have others inspect the big picture of our detailed work; we must have balance on our teams)

14:15 A fool believes everything, but a cunning man understands his steps. (we must check our notions and concepts against practical experimental data and in every way possible with diligence and with humble open minds.)

14:16 A wise man fears and turns away from evil (boundless operation), but a fool passes vigorously and slips. (a fool discounts the dangers of operating too close or even beyond preset safety margins and even mocks those he sees as being timid with “fear” of the evil or even a coward is the implication, “who cares, will probably be okay”; we must “fear” the operational boundary so that we are diligently focused on them)

14:22 Will they who plan evil not go astray? But kindness and truth come to those who plan good.

14:23 In every toil there will be gain, but a word of the lips is only for loss.

14:24 The crown of the wise is their wealth; the folly of the foolish is folly. (Fools see time, money and diligent effort spent on acquiring understanding and wisdom as foolish waste since “luck” is on their side and yet they are wrong and headed for ruin)

14:25 A true witness saves lives, but he who speaks lies is [a man of] deceit. (CHAINS: we must support confidential reporting of unsafe operations or foolish misfocus or lack of effort our boundless operations because Proverbs 17:12 “It is safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to confront a fool caught in foolishness.”, therefore we need confidential reporting.)

14:27 The fear of the Lord is a spring of life, to turn away from the snares of death. (reference Proverbs 14:16 (above) where here it is clear to commend those with “fear” as opposed to the evil ones that mock this type of man and the bounds of good discipline he lives and works within; operational envelope well within safety margins)

14:29 He who is slow to anger is of great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered selects folly.

15:1 A gentle reply turns away wrath, but a distressing word stirs up anger. (clearly the manner in which we speak to each other has implications for the team and whether we behave foolishly or not (see proverb 14:29) and there is a reason these two proverbs are close together. If we reply gently we can lead others away from folly.)

15:2 The tongue of the wise enhances knowledge, but the mouth of the fools pours out folly.

15:3 The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, viewing the evil and the good. (the destructive nature of foolish statements and gossip is well known and people victim of this may feel helpless and

yet this isn’t true and this proverb makes it clear that although the victim feels alone and that no one else sees what is happening God does and you will be protected via the mysterious ways of God)

15:4 A healing tongue is a tree of life, but if there is perverseness in it, it causes destruction by wind. (speaking can help yet it must be honest, measured and wise)

15:5 A fool despises the discipline of his father, but he who keeps reproof will become cunning. (how much clearer can discipline and wisdom be tied together?)

15:9 The way of a wicked man is an abomination of the Lord, but He loves him who pursues righteousness. (“pursue” implies effortful commitment to find the right ways of doing things; which is clearly to operate within the operational envelope with fear and focus on maintaining separation between operational ways and their loads and the resistance of the material and people we interact with)

15:10 Harsh discipline will come to him who forsakes the way; he who hates reproof shall die. (sure its brutal the death and damage of accidents and people bringing these tragedies up time and again and yet this is the way of life and instruction and we must not “hate reproof” and yet we must learn from it and let it guide our life and ways (Proverbs 10:17 The one keeps discipline preserves life, but he who forsakes reproof misleads.))

15:12 A scorner does not like being reproved; he does not go to the wise. (is a leading indicator to spot scorning?; Be wary as a Green/Blue that I do not like criticism and tend to avoid superiors or even fear them so this is a point to focus efforts at overcoming)

15:13-15 A merry heart makes a cheerful face, but by sadness of heart comes a breaking spirit. The heart of an understanding person seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools befriends folly. All the days of a poor man are wretched, but he who has a cheerful heart always has a feast. (there is a subtle lesson here about attitude and countenance towards others and its ultimate effect on success.)

15:16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord, than a great treasury and turmoil with it. (wow! More wisdom on boundaries of even success!; this makes “fear of the Lord” and more important leading indicator than the controller of a company uses from Harvard MBA schools)

15:18 A man of wrath stirs up quarrels, but he who is slow to anger abates strife. (quarrels are no good for teams and communications and are distractions to the focus and efforts we must have. So a diligent and observant assessment and measurement of peoples’ behavior is clearly a leading indicator and a management tool.)

15:19 The way of a lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is even. (effort)

15:22 Plans are foiled for lack of counsel, but they are established through many advisers. (be open minded, and humble and put effort into seeking out and sorting through the advice of others)

15:24 The path of life is above the intelligent person, in order that he turn away from the grave below. (we must always seek spiritually higher ways of doing things; refine our plans; ourselves)

15:28 The heart of a righteous man thinks to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evils. (clearly our talk within our organizations and within teams on projects is vital and we should consider, measure and minimize our speaking; BREVCOM)

15:30 The light of the eyes makes the heart happy; good news fattens the bone. (there is a true need for ascetics within our organizations and offices and field sites; take pictures; take a break and look out the window and see the beauty of a flowing river or a vegetable garden and make the heart happy for it cleanses the sadness of the heart and increases our health; then get back to the focus and efforts)

15:31-33 The ear that listens to reproof of life shall lodge among the wise. He who rejects discipline despises his life, but he who hearkens to reproof acquires sense. The fear of the Lord is the discipline of wisdom, and before honor there is humility. (Seeking honor versus humility is the theme of Dr. Dweck’s landmark educational studies were focused on and they agree with these proverbs)

16:1 The preparations of the heart are man's, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. (is the true measure of humility found in speech?)

16:2 All ways of man are pure in his eyes, but the Lord counts the spirits. (there is nothing more here and now than the spirit that brings us together and keeps us together on our projects; how do we measure this? Perhaps the last proverb suggests we listen intently)

16:3 Commit your affairs to the Lord, and your plans will be established. (The secret to planning a well construction project; commit to the betterment of the whole and not simply the interests of the “in group” or the general individualistic drive.

16:4 The Lord made everything for His praise-even the wicked man for the day of evil. (we shouldn’t complain too much about the people that do not act as they should for they are created for making the good man look better and point to the source of his goodness; God)

16:5 Everyone of haughty heart is an abomination of the Lord; hand to hand he will not go unpunished. (arrogance versus humility)

16:6 With loving-kindness and truth will iniquity be expiated, and through fear of the Lord turn away from evil. (we will focus on boundaries if we fear the Lord and those that fear the Lord will survive mock and scorn from evil ones with efforts at loving kindness and truth)

16:7 When the Lord accepts a person's ways, He will cause even his enemies to make peace with him. (enemies may be a measure of how much the Lord accepts our ways)

16:8 Better a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (a clear boundary for business and again better than a Harvard MBA)

16:9 A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord prepares his step. (we plan and write procedures and yet God is responsible for how well we execute our operations)

16:10 The balance and scales of justice are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are His work. (justice requires wisdom, diligence, efforts, righteousness and commitment to the group as a whole and situational attribution given to accidents and mistakes)

16:17 The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil; he who guards his soul watches his way. (how much clearer can focus on the operational envelope be stated as the exact wisdom of proverbs? We must steer our operational loads away from the resistance strength of our barriers or conversely we must steer our barrier towards loads that do not exceed them. “He who guards his soul watches his way” We must focus on the here and now in light of where we are going because that is the exact location that hazard emerges. Ie emergencies happen precisely there.)

16:18 Before destruction comes pride, and before stumbling [comes] a haughty spirit. (why? Read above. Do we have proof of this? Macondo blowout was immediately after the more or less same crew drilled the deepest well in deepwater on record which was of course a great source of “pride” for that team. Also, they were receiving a safety award, the day of the disaster. So is a source of pride a potential hazard? Yes, of course, so this is a leading indicator to look for and manage.)

16:19 It is better to be of humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoils with the haughty. (common theme emphasized)

16:20 He who considers a matter will find good, and he who trusts in the Lord is fortunate. (Another reiteration that we must weigh our ways in the here and now before we will have confidence in the outcome)

16:21 The wise-hearted shall be called understanding; and the sweetness of speech increases learning. ( a learning organization will speak sweetly to one another and be respectful of the wise and not mocking of them as fearful or timid)

16:27 An ungodly man digs up evil, and on his lips is a kind of searing fire. (By definition drilling a well removes a barrier to flow (good) and replaces it with a sufficient barrier (good) or an insufficient barrier (evil); if evil=exceeding bounds and we dig this up, this strikes close to the danger of drilling when the pore pressure exceeds our hydrodynamic and/or hydrostatic barrier. Ungodly is defined as “without heights” or possibly without successful PPFG estimation from the highest sources and due diligence and due process.

16:28 A perverse man incites quarrel, and a grumbler alienates the Lord. (we must measure our words and actions carefully in order to not incite a quarrel)

16:29 A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him on a way that is not good. (we should not let lacking standards in terms of load resistance of our operations and the margin of safety nor in our commitment to be kind, honest and peaceful with people in our organization and on our teams and projects.

16:30 He winks his eyes to think perverse thoughts; he purses his lips, bringing evil to pass. (Is winking how evildoers entice us to join their ranks?)

16:32 One who is slow to anger is better than a mighty man, and one who rules over his spirit [is better] than one who conquers a city. (might isn’t physical and superficial it is spiritual; this is

akin to the fixed versus humble; arrogance/pedigree(or past results; outcome orientation) vs effort, mindset comparison)

17:9 He who conceals transgression seeks love, but he who harps on a matter alienates the Lord. (if a person sins against us and we forgive them if they are contrite and not remind them of it they will love it. Therefore we should see transgressions against us as opportunities to win the love of others)

17:10 The humility caused by the rebuke of an understanding person [is more effective] than a hundred blows to a fool. (This clearly teaches the need to distinguish between humility and folly before we decide how to confront a person as a manager)

17:14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, and before you are exposed, abandon the quarrel. (stop a quarrel before the flow from a small leak erodes and bursts the dam)

17:15 He who vindicates the wicked and condemns the righteous-both are an abomination to the Lord. (clearly a warning against superficial judgment and the need for situational attribution in judgment and the Just Culture)

17:17 At all times, love a friend, for he is born a brother for adversity. (we should be friendly and kind and make friends even if we do not see the utility or need for it is for adversity in the future)

17:19 He who delights in transgression delights in quarrels; he who speaks haughtily seeks disaster. (Quarrelsome people can make teamwork difficult yet arrogant people can cause disasters)

17:20 He who is of a perverse heart will find no good, and he who has a hypocritical tongue will fall into evil. (do not behave in a way that suggests one has higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case in order to distinguish superiority over others or we may become lacking of discipline. This is akin to pride, arrogance, and duplicity leading to evil and corruption or basicly the five things God hates)

17:24 Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man, but the eyes of a fool are at the end of the earth. (This means an understanding man realizes that small efforts amount to a great deal and have patience in regards to time and effort yet the fool is impatient and only sees the great effort required and cannot focus on small steps necessary to accomplish big task. This also refers to focus on efforts close at hand and not the outcome. Because the outcome distracts us, discourages us or makes us arrogant; all bad in light of true wisdom)

17:26 To punish also the righteous man is not good-to strike the generous who possess uprightness. (Justice entails diligent distinction between the wrong and right person. Situational

assessments must be patiently engaged in order to establish a Just Culture; better to let a few bad go free than to punish one good person)

18:9 Even one who is slack in his work is akin to the destroyer. (Effort is the opposite; the greatest guard against destruction is effort; it is the main value of process safety)

18:12 Before ruin, a man's heart becomes haughty, but before honor there is humility. (proverbs clearly implies disasters are the cause of arrogance and humility is the safeguard against accidents. This is a leading trait and indicator)

18:13 He who answers a word before he understands-it is foolishness for him and an embarrassment.

18:14 A man's spirit will sustain his illness, but a broken spirit-who will bear it? (the spirit of a mighty man does not take worry to heart, but accepts with joy and love whatever befalls him; he doesn’t lose his strength;”What we enjoy at present on this good land, is a victory against the hardships of the past.” Sheik Zayed)

18:15 An understanding heart will acquire knowledge, and the ear of the wise will seek knowledge. (listen for knowledge and move within earshot of it)

18:16 A man's gift will make room for him, and it will lead him before the great. (Charity)

18:17 He who pleads his case first seems just, but his neighbor comes and searches him out. (we can claim anything we want and yet the truth will be know. We must put the efforts in place of all we claim to know, understand or achieve; we must back up our marketing efforts and our resumes with diligent effort focused on the tasks at hand to achieve the ultimate goal.)

18:20 With the fruit of his mouth does a man's stomach become sated; with the produce of his lips he is sated.

18:21 Death and life are in the hand of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its produce.

18:23 A poor man speaks with supplications, but a rich man replies with impudence. (this teaches us how to speak to a superior position; despite their shortness or alacrity in answering us; this is the way it is and should be; do not lean on our own understanding yet trust God knows best the reasons why we must tolerate this fact)

19:6 The great will beg the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. (Charity will make one popular; so if its politics that baffles one…look no further)

19:8 He who acquires sense loves his soul; he who guards understanding will eventually find good.

19:11 It is good sense for a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

19:15 Laziness causes one to fall into a deep sleep, and a deceitful soul shall suffer hunger.

19:16 He who keeps a commandment keeps his soul; he who despises his ways will die.

19:19 A hot-tempered man incurs punishment, but if you save you will yet increase.

19:20 Hearken to advice and accept discipline, in order that you may be wise in your later years.

19:22 The attraction to a man is his kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar.

19:23 Fear of the Lord is for life, and he will rest satisfied, not to be visited by evil.

19:25 Beat a scorner, and a simple man will gain cunning; reprove a man of understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

20:4 Because of the winter, a lazy man does not plow; he will seek in harvest, and there will be nothing. (don’t let the weather stop you)

20:6 Many people call upon the man who promises them kindness, but who can find a trustworthy man?

20:15 There is gold and many pearls, but lips of knowledge are like a precious vessel.

20:18 Plans with counsel will be established, and with strategies wage war.

20:22 Do not say, "I will repay evil." Hope to the Lord, and He will save you.

20:24 A man's steps are from the Lord, for man understands nothing of his way. (what does this say about “procedural compliance”?)

20:28 Kindness and truth preserve the king, and he supports his throne with kindness. (job security is “kindness and truth” yet do not drift into meaness)

21:5 The plans of a diligent man lead only to advantage, whereas every hasty one hurries only to want.

21:7 The plunder of the wicked frightens them, for they have refused to perform justice.

21:13 He who stops up his ear from the cry of a poor man-he, too, will cry out and not be answered.

21:14 A gift in secret will appease wrath, and a bribe in the pocket [will even appease] strong wrath.

21:16 A man who strays from the way of understanding will rest in the congregation of the shades.

21:18 A wicked man shall be ransom for a righteous man, and a treacherous one instead of the upright.

21:19 It is better to dwell in a desert land than [with] a quarrelsome and vexatious wife.

21:21 He who pursues charity and kindness will find life, charity, and honor.

21:23 He who watches his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles.

21:24 A malevolent, haughty man-scorner is his name; he acts with malevolent anger. (because he hates rebuke he avoids true intimacy with people through scorn and malevolent anger.)

21:25 The desire of a lazy man will bring about his death, for his hands refuse to labor.

21:28 A false witness will perish, but an obedient man may speak forever.

21:30 There is neither wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.

21:31 A steed is prepared for a day of battle, but the victory is the Lord's.

22:3 A cunning man saw harm and hid, but fools transgressed and were punished.

22:4 In the wake of humility comes fear of the Lord, riches, honor, and life.

22:5 Troops and snares are in the way of the perverse: he who preserves his soul will distance himself from them.

22:8 He who sows injustice will reap violence, and the rod of his wrath will fail.

22.9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gave of his bread to the poor.

22:10 Banish a scorner, and quarrel will depart, and litigation and disgrace will cease.

22:11 He who loves one pure of heart with charm on his lips-the King is his friend.

22:12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge and He will frustrate the worlds of a treacherous man.

22:13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside; I will be murdered in the middle of the streets.”

22:16 He who exploits a poor man to increase for himself will give to a rich man only to want.

22:17-18 Incline your ear and hearken to the words of the wise, and put your heart to my knowledge, for it is pleasant that you guard them in your innards; they will be established together on your lips.

22:19 That your trust shall be in the Lord, I have made known to you this day, even you.

22:24-25 Do not befriend a quick-tempered person, neither shall you go with a wrathful man; lest you learn his ways and take a snare for your soul.

22:28 Do not remove an ancient boundary that your forefathers set. (do not forsake best practices and standards)

22:29 Have you seen a man quick in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before poor men.

23:1-3 If you sit down to dine with a ruler, you should understand well who is in front of you, and you shall put a knife into your jaw if you are a man with a hearty appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for it is bread of lies.

23:4-5 Do not weary yourself to grow rich; cease from your own understanding. Should you blink your eyes at it, it is not here; for it will make wings for itself, like the eagle, and it will fly toward the heavens.

23:6-8 Do not dine upon the bread of a stingy person and do not desire his delicacies; for it is as though it poured gall into his friend, so is he. He will tell you to eat and drink, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit out your morsel that you ate, and you will lose your sweet words. (stingy=evil eye; is that the squinty eye? The guy that hates you because he thinks you are diminishing his portion? You can be kind and thank him graciously and sweetly yet your wasting your breath and “sweet words”.)

23:9 Do not speak into the ears of a fool, for he will despise the sense of your words.

23:10-11 Do not remove an ancient boundary, and do not enter the fields of the orphans-for their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause with you.

23:12 Bring your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge. (workout and study?; ha ha that is how I read it!)

23:13-16 Do not withhold discipline from a child; when you strike him with a rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with a rod, and you will save his soul from the grave. My son, if your heart has grown wise, my heart too will rejoice. And my reins shall rejoice when your lips speak right things.

23:17-19 Let your heart not envy the sinners, but fear of the Lord all day-for because of this, there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Hear you, my son, and grow wise, and walk in the way of your heart. (once wise we will get our desires because the heart of a wise man will not entice me to sin)

23:20-21 Do not be among wine-guzzlers, among gluttonous eaters of meat for themselves, for the guzzler and the glutton will become impoverished, and slumber will clothe you with tatters.

23:23 Buy truth and do not sell wisdom, discipline, and understanding.

23:24-25 The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly, and he who begets a wise son will have joy with him. May your father and mother rejoice, and may she who bore you have joy.

23:26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes keep my ways.

23:29-35 Who cries, “Woe!” Who, “Alas!” He who has quarrels. He who talks too much. Who has wounds without cause? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who sit late over wine, those who come to search for mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red; when he puts his eye on the cup, it goes smoothly. Ultimately, it will bite like a serpent, and sting like a viper. Your eyes will see strange women, and your heart will speak confusedly. And you shall be like one lying in

the midst of the sea and like one lying at the top of a mast. “They struck me but I did not become ill; they beat me but I did not know it. When will I awaken? I will continue; I will seek it again.”

24:1-2 Do not envy men of evil; do not desire to be with them; for their heart thinks of plunder, and their lips speak of wrongdoing.

24:7 Wisdom is as pearls to the fool; in the gate he will not open his mouth. (do a little today and more tomorrow soon it will add up)

24:9 The counsel of folly is sin, and what makes man an abomination is scorn.

24:13-14 Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate. So too, know wisdom for your soul; if you have found it, you will have a future and your hope will not be cut off.