The following were written in November 1997 by my dad, William Bigler, who was a highly successful process engineer and project manager for Corning, Inc. for over 40 years. These principles are a compilation of the most important lessons he learned about product manufacturing, project management—and life. He shared them with me, and now I’m sharing them with you.
Philosophy
Happy Holidays: Traditions and Rituals
Whether you celebrate Christmas or another holiday or tradition, I wanted to send my warmest wishes to you—along with an important thought to carry into the new year. It came to me as I was working on my annual cookie bake-a-thon, covered in flour, with frosting on my face and trying to hold back two excited boys who take their jobs as tasters very seriously. It’s an important distinction because it’s what really gives our lives meaning, and it’s what shapes the results we get in our lives as we move forward.
Playing Out of Position
My son, Jon-Jon, is on a new competitive baseball team (go Riptide!) and he had his first tournament this weekend. Normally Jon-Jon plays second base or short stop, but as the coach is still getting to know him, he was in left field for this particular tournament—which translated into several missed catches, not throwing the ball to the right cut-off man, not backing up the right person, etc. As a parent, it was frustrating to watch, as my husband and I know that Jon-Jon is capable of a lot better fielding that he was showing. And, by the last inning […]
The One Thing That Will Give You the Greatest Results and the Most Joy
My dad used to say that the way to achieve balance was to spend equal time at the extremes. Since I’ve grown up and have my own family, business and all the other responsibilities that come with these things, I’ve realized that it’s impossible. I spend all my time at the busy extreme and almost ZERO time in the other. Can you relate?