Prometheus & Epimetheus – The Technician’s Path
/By MATT MARTIN
What sets apart one technician from another? One could ask themselves that question about any profession – or endeavor for that matter. Musicians, engineers, actors or actresses, mathematicians, athletes, or a used car salesperson: all of them carry an underlying vein that drives their success.
In reflecting on my early beginnings as a technician I found myself cringing at the evident lack of mechanical knowledge that one would typically need to be competent in this field. I believe my trainer at the time shared the same sentiments. Their semi-glazed-over eyes peered into my mind as if searching for any resemblance of comprehension on how to properly seat a level probe fitting. I’m sure, in that moment, they felt that my understanding of concepts like electromagnetic forces and induction motor rotation was about as probable as the Detroit Lions winning a Super Bowl.
As a coffee technician there are two general paths one can take: forethought and hindsight. Plato’s myth of the Twin Titans broadly encompasses this thought. Prometheus was the brother who placed emphasis on thought before action, whereas Epimetheus focused on production first, casting the effects of choices as mere shadows of progress. Coffee technicians are no different. In a world that is becoming more and more speed-driven, Epimetheus seems to be the easiest mindset to adopt. The lure to add a quick band-aid or resolution can often lead to un-desirable outcomes in the future. The question that must be answered is how does the technician adapt to the ever-changing environment rather than being merely altered by it?
Coffee was once a product that focused on community gathering and networking. While the product in coffee promotes quick synapse responses, the purpose of the environment was intentional and focused. When there is a removal of a deliberate action, the end-result is simply the product. This concept also translates over to the action(s) taken, not only by the technicians in a repair situation, but also to those who train the technician. Repair work without understanding and deliberate action leaves only a trail of unknown outcomes – for the store, the customers, the technician, and the service provider. The technicians are already, by nature, a representation of those who trained them: either forethought or hindsight. This is why understanding and deliberate action are so necessary.
Studying concepts like induction motor rotation may not be the most thrilling activity on some people’s agendas, but if someone really wanted to be successful in their endeavors (and this is different that competency), understanding sits at the heart of it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if gaining understanding was as simple as grabbing a phone and heading to AskJeeves.com (yes, that was an actual thing at one point) in order to find out exactly how induction motors work? Or discovering what the best method is for manually tamping traditional espresso is, and maybe even figuring out the most efficient method to running a café rush? Unfortunately, knowledge doesn’t equate to understanding. The difference between the two lies in deliberate action, or the lack thereof. Knowledge without action often translates into arrogance and while it can be a mask of ‘success’, it is truly just a fraud. For the technician, learning how a three-phase electrical circuit creates an electromagnetic force is much needed knowledge, but if the technician never fully learns the actions needed to test whether those circuits are working correctly or not, the knowledge just remains as useful as a fine-tuned espresso bar with no well-trained barista to extract beautifully cascading espresso from it.
What’s beautiful about understanding is the transformation it can create. A learner who has no desire to grow will never move past their current footing. On the other hand, those who have a forward-looking, growth mentality makes repairs that are long lasting, create lasting relationships with their customers, even in fast-paced circumstances, and put into action that which they have intentionally studied or gleaned from others. This is the utmost desire for those who train: to encourage growth in others that then inspires action-driven and intentional outcomes.
Not everyone choses the forward-thinking path of Prometheus and this makes finding superb candidates challenging and intentional training even more difficult. Some may say that the musician and those in the arts are driven by their passion, while others may say that athletes, mathematicians, and engineers are given natural abilities. While all of this may be true, not one of them will have success without having a deep understanding of their craft and an intentional, driven action to see it through. A technician may know the history of the AC Induction Motor along with all of Nikola Tesla’s greatest achievements. They may also have a well-rounded knowledge of three-phase electrical systems and know how the windings around a rotor create an electromagnetic motion when charged—but knowledge without action only produces arrogance, and action without intentionality or understanding leaves behind unknown and undesired outcomes or products.
“The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.” – Nikola Tesla