“The hard way is the easy way” has always rung true because when you take short cuts you end up making more work for yourself. Maybe the thing didn’t fit because you didn’t take the time to measure it properly, or you didn’t calibrate the machine. Or you made assumptions that turned out untrue because you didn’t take the time to fully research them or whatever.
Do the work up front, or it increases exponentially. I literally despise this quote. Growing up I hated when my dad quoted it at me. And I’m a little disgusted with myself for agreeing with him now haha. But it’s so true.
“Documentation is the name of the game”: My dad was a union president for the board of Ed in my town growing up. He had to deal with a lot of he-said-she-said cases. But whoever can prove what they’re saying with proper, timestamped documentation always wins the case.