A Tale of the two Justins

[Michael Montcalm]

Just a little story I was thinking of:

"Justin Case and Justin Time both work at the same widget factory. They've both been invited to attend a party starting at 6:00 that evening, and have been asked to show up early to help with the prep.

They both leave the office at exactly 5:00. Justin Time hops in his car and takes off straight to the party. Justin Case gets out to the parking lot, and realizes he should grab his umbrella, just in case it rains that night. Two minutes later, he hops into his car and takes off.

Justin Case notices that his gas tank is running a little low, so he decides to top it off, in case he's sent to get additional supplies for the party. 10 minutes of detour and gassing up and he continues on his way. He takes a second detour to the grocery store to pick up ice, as it's often a requirement at parties. 8 minutes of detour and shopping later, and he heads off to the party.

Justin Time arrives at the party at 5:30, and is informed that the party is without ice... and pop and chips. He hops in his car to go and pick up the supplies, only to realize he's low on gas. He detours for a fill up (taking 10 minutes) and heads to the grocery store for supplies (another 8 minutes) before getting back to the party at 5:48.

Right on his heels is Justin Case, who, having spent 20 minutes detouring, arrives at 5:50. Justin Case walks in the door with his bag of ice, only to be informed that it's not needed, and even had he arrived at 5:30 with the ice, he still would have been asked to go back out for pop and chips. Had Justin Time not arrived at all, Justin Case would have been sent out at 5:50 and would only be getting back at 5:58, leaving insufficient time to get the party set up before everyone arrived at 6:00.

Oh and as for the umbrella, it never rained."

- It's impossible to be able to prepare for every scenario and still be able to meet a deadline. Projects do not have infinite lead time. Attempting to do everything "just in case" will result in your being late; arriving with extras that may be unneeded, unwanted and unused.