The intrigue of a back-stage blunder

The high-vis vests made them invisible. I’m not the first person to point out the brilliance of hiding in plain sight. No one would notice a bunch of construction workers lurking around the Louvre. 

I’m obsessed with the invisible jobs who have access to the most closely-guarded secrets and high-value assets in the world. 

👀 The restroom attendant in the Supreme Court bathroom

👀 The White House stenographer

👀 Donald Trump’s spray tan applicator

👀 The person responsible for sorting the brown M&M’s out of Eddie Van Halen’s backstage candy bowl

👀 The Lindbergh nanny

👀 The designer for the first pair of astronaut underwear who had to collect the exact dimensions of a different set of crowned jewels

👀 The plumber of Buckingham Palace

👀 The on-set HR representative in a Hollywood sex scene

These people are granted great responsibility, and great trust is placed in them. And yet, after the background check is complete and the NDA is signed, they are cropped out of the frame. They clock out at the end of their shifts and drive their Ford Focuses or Hyundai Elantras back to their rented apartments on the other side of town.

But these people have eyes to see, 

ears to hear, 

brains to form opinions, 

and mouths to share what they’ve seen. 

They also have hands to steal, and sometimes oversized coats to hide things in.

And like all humans, they also make mistakes. And in their mistakes, they become the unwitting authors of history.

Like when Archduke Ferdinand’s driver, who took a wrong turn. 

Or the voting machine designer who poorly calibrated the hole-punching mechanism for the units sent to Florida in 2000.

Or the Army Engineer who missed a few things in his New Orleans levy inspection.

Or whoever was responsible for checking construction equipment between the Pont Neuf and the Pont du Carrousel. 

Or the security guard who set the password for the Louvre security cameras.

Hiring the right people is only one ingredient to elite operations. Excellence is also about preventing the circumstances that leave room for mistakes. The procedures for putting down the CAUTION WET FLOOR signs that prevent the slip-and-falls of history. 

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👋 I’m Claire. There’s nothing I love more than a good backstage blunder. Please share yours.

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