Lousy tools are dangerous. They endanger our safety (physical or emotional) and undermine our work. Lousy tools are pretty easy to avoid, because they reveal themselves whenever we use them. Great tools are magical. They multiply our effort, amplify the quality of our work and delight us, all at once. It's mediocre tools that we have to watch out for. They quietly and persistently corrupt our intent and force us to work harder on the parts that don't matter as much.

Back in high school, young baby-faced Jay learned many lessons. I learned how much hair gel was too much hair gel. I learned that puka shells can be worn with every outfit, and I later learned that p...