Old timer at a job site in Cleveland flipped my mortar mixing method

I've been laying block for about 8 years now and always mixed my mortar on the drier side because that's what my first crew lead taught me. Last spring we were working a retaining wall project near the West Side Market and this retired bricklayer, must've been 70 plus, walked up and watched me for a few minutes. He just said 'son, you're fighting the mud instead of letting it work for you' and then showed me how he added water in small doses until it had that shiny, creamy look on the surface. I told him I worried about slump and the wall settling over time. He laughed and pointed at a section I'd laid two days prior, said the joints were already showing tiny hairline cracks from being too stiff. I tried his approach on the next stretch and honestly the bricks sat easier, less tapping to level them out, and the finish looked cleaner. Has anyone else gotten advice from a retired guy on the job that totally contradicted their training but turned out better?

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