Work Ethic and Passion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I don\u2019t write much about my paying job. It\u2019s a good job, but when I\u2019m away from work I don\u2019t want to think about work \u2013 it\u2019s part of that\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2009\/10\/work-ethic-and-passion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Work Ethic and Passion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I don\u2019t write much about my paying job. 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{"id":482,"date":"2009-10-21T21:47:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T21:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2009\/10\/work-ethic-and-passion\/"},"modified":"2009-10-21T21:47:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-21T21:47:00","slug":"work-ethic-and-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2009\/10\/work-ethic-and-passion.html","title":{"rendered":"Work Ethic and Passion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

There is a person at work who (and I will be extremely vague to avoid any possiblity of identifying him\/her) has always done just enough to get by. A nice person, intelligent and capable, but a person with a ton of unrealized potential. This year business has been down, cuts have been made, and those of us who still have jobs have had to become more productive. If anything, this person has become less productive \u2013 and has been rather visible about it. I\u2019ve made some low-key suggestions that have been acknowledged and then ignored. Now the matter has reached several levels above me, and the person in question is in danger of being fired.<\/p>\n

The libertarian in me knows it has to be this way. Society only works when everyone pulls his or her own weight \u2013 let one person slide by with substandard performance and everyone else starts wondering why s\/he is bothering to try. Fairness and reciprocity are part of our \u201cmoral instincts<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tried to put myself in this person\u2019s shoes and one thing became very apparent. I couldn\u2019t live with myself if I turned in work as substandard in quantity and quality as this person has. I don\u2019t care what it takes\u2026 I can\u2019t stand a personal failure \u2013 those of you who\u2019ve seen me stressing before a circle or a Sunday service know what I\u2019m talking about. But a group failure? That\u2019s not quite so distasteful to me.<\/p>\n

Over 25 years in business and industry I\u2019ve been able to observe a lot of successful people (as well as some genuinely bad people, but that\u2019s another story for another time). There are exceptions, but for the most part, they\u2019re smart but not geniuses, well-educated but not Ivy Leaguers, hard-working but not workaholics. What makes them stand out is that they refuse to fail. Whatever it takes, whatever they have to do, whoever they have to push, they\u2019ll do it. Most play by the rules, but they\u2019ll do what they think has to be done. That\u2019s why they\u2019re successful.<\/p>\n

What in your life do you do just enough to get by?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so important you refuse to fail?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so important you not only refuse to fail, you refuse to allow someone else to contribute to your failure?<\/p>\n

Regardless of the context, they\u2019re questions worth answering.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"