Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes.
If your Latin is a little impaired, that’s “dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.” It was originally attributed to Bernard of Chartres in the 12th Century, but it was quoted by Isaac Newton in a letter and has often been used in metaphor to describe one who develops future intellectual pursuits by understanding and building on the research and works created by notable thinkers of the past.
In the great Cathedral at Chartres, there’s a stained glass window on the south wall – just under the Rose Window – that depicts the four major prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel) as oversized, with the authors of the New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) in normal size, seated on their shoulders. Though smaller in stature, the Gospel writers could see further than their forebears, because they had the benefit of perspective and saw the Messiah.
We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. The first giant who allowed me to stand on his shoulders was Jack Kinney, the man who became my surrogate father when I married his daughter, 54 years ago.
My family of origin was clearly on the dysfunctional spectrum; I left home at 17 with no clue about how to participate in a home, or in society. My cement hadn’t set yet; I was still malleable. I showed up at Jack’s door to pick Cheri up for our first date in 1968… and it was game on. What did I learn from him?
Lesson #1: You have to win me before you can win my daughter. The word “passive” did not attach to Jack’s fathering. He was protective of his family, and my intentions had to be vetted before I was allowed to take his precious offspring beyond his span of control. I watched; I submitted, and I learned how to ultimately replicate that role with the daughters God gave me to nurture.
Lesson #2: Your reputation is fully within your control. Months before the wedding, Jack invited me to come into his 25-year-old company to learn the ropes. There were over 200 employees when I arrived and assumed my position at the bottom of the heap. Over the next six years, I came up through the ranks to become the Executive Vice President and General Manager. My degree was earned through learning from him: I achieved a minor in Mechanical Contracting, but my major was Reputation Building. He was a legend in the building industry in Southern California; his word was his bond, but his integrity was his foundation. He didn’t wear his faith on his sleeve, but his life was a testimony.
Lesson #3: Get to know people… and then give them as much trust as they deserve. Jack didn’t trust everyone equally; he waited to see what you were made of, and then he gave you just what you had earned. The stories around the family table – from the past – recounted the scoundrels who had violated the confidence Jack had in them; he recognized that he had given them more rope than they could handle, and they had hung themselves. If he had only waited to see their character, first. I watched, listened… and learned.
Lesson #4: Your career will end; what happens next is up to you. The company sold in 1981, and Jack stayed – under contract – for another year. He walked out of his office at the end of 1982 and he had nothing else on his horizon. He was a giant in his industry; a legend among the builders who were post-WWII entrepreneurs. Their projects shaped today’s Southern California. Back then, there was no HalfTime; no Master’s Program to cultivate a sense of calling that stretched beyond the marketplace. Jack went home and focused his next 31 years on his family.
About 14 years ago, Jack left for heaven. He was 93; he had been married for 72 years.
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.” — Psalm 112:1-3
Jack was a giant; he was the blessed man.
Look down there, under your feet: whose shoulders are those, upon which you stand?
Bob Shank
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Bob, I want to be like Jack when I grow up. I only have 7 more years to match his longevity.
“Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.” I am glad the Lord defines riches very different from today’s marketplace definition. The measure of the man after God’s heart is riches defined by what He treasures and not what will rust, burn or rot here. Thanks for laying up treasure that matters most in the ultimate test. Infinite blessings! bud
P. S. Thanks for being one of those GIANTS!
Thank You Bob for being the GIANT in my life… and the lives of many others
I had the privilege of working with Jack Kinney and can tell you that what Bob shared is an accurate picture of the man Jack Kinney. As a young man at the time it was what I needed to experience as to how to run a business as a Christian. Little did I know that I would start my own heating and air conditioning company in 1984 and implement many of the life lessons learned at Kinney into my company – Pro Heating and Air.
Thanks Jack for the influence you had on my life and the lives of so many others.