“But we did the work!”

How important is good old hard work? And by comparison, how important is the outcome of all that work?

Here’s a story my grandfather liked to tell:

I was sitting right there on the porch when these two fellas come up the street, walkin’ along in the median, with shovels.

One of ‘em would dig a hole. Then they’d look at it for a minute. Then the other’n would fill ‘er in.

Then they’d walk on and do it again.

Well I hollered out and said, “What in the hell are you two boys doin’?”

And one of ‘em said they was plantin’ trees. Plantin’ trees, he says!

Well I said, “How you figure?”

And he says, “Well, this here’s our job for the city, and we do it like they told us. I dig the hole. Johnson puts in the tree. And Bill here, he fills it in.”

I said, “Where’s Johnson?”

And he says, “Johnson called in sick this morning. Says he’s feelin’ awful. ‘Course, we all know he’s gone fishin’. … But me and Bill here, we ain’t loafers. We show up and do our work!”

Boy, he really loved that one.

But here’s the thing:

It’s a silly story.

Nobody can be so short-sighted as to think that their job is just to do what they’re told, without regard for the actual outcome — can they?

Nobody can get so caught up in the details of their work that they forget to consider whether they’re accomplishing something useful — can they?

Nobody can get so focused on tools and techniques that they forget why they acquired the tools in the first place — can they?

Sure they can. Happens all the time.

Don’t let it happen to you.

All the best,
A.