Good ‘nough…

I was thinking about the skill master craftsmen have.  About the personal commitment these professionals have to their profession.  How they care more about doing the job right than about how much they get paid.  How they care more than their boss does; or their co-workers do; or even their customers do.  Master craftsmen do the job right because that’s the only way they know how to do it. 

My Father-in-Law was a master craftsman.  He was the trim-carpenter for a builder in the 1960s and 1970s who built million dollar homes in the western suburbs of Chicago.  As you might imagine, a million dollar house in 1970 was some house!  My Father-In-Law specialized in the final trim work; everything visible – woodwork, doors, windows, recesses, cabinets.  For a million dollars back then?  Perfection was expected.  

But he didn’t mind those expectations.  You see, as a master craftsman perfection was his expectation and that’s all that really mattered to him.  The satisfaction of doing the job right was why he did what he did.   His peace of mind when he went home everyday came from knowing this.  Pride in his work.  No worries; no pretending; no cover-ups; no excuses; no office politics.  Peace-of mind from a job well done - that was his personal reward (that, and a martini before dinner). 

Decades later, I wonder if these master craftsmen still exist in our fast-paced, automated, outsourced, technology-laden society.  Gerald M. Weinberg thinks not 

Weinberg's Law 

If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization. 

Do you feel the same way?  Are we losing our pride and skill of true craftsmanship in our white-collar professions?  Certainly, if we think about the eye doctor we are about to turn our two, and only two, eyes over to for Lasix surgery – we definitely hope he or she is like my Father-In-Law, true?  Are other positions with our companies any less important?  Shouldn’t our clients count on us all to be master craftsmen?  Shouldn’t we? 

I like to compare white-collar and blue-collar pursuits.  It has always seemed to me that one key component to success in a white-collar job is maintaining a blue-collar mentality.  Doing the job right the first time should be more important than our title, don’t you think?  (That, and a martini before dinner.)  But can we avoid the good ‘nough syndrome? 

            Good enough never is. 

James C. Collins 

Take a plumber, for instance.  Ever notice that plumbers don’t use a hammer in their job?  Many don’t even carry a hammer in their grip.  In just about every other trade, an amateur hack can “get it close” and then pull out a hammer and “knock it into place”.  This is called “Good ‘nough – let’s go home.”  Plumbers?  Not a chance!  Good ‘nough equals a leak – which is why we called a plumber in the first place.  No martini at home for them yet. 

Ever notice the details of the job that’s done at work?  Lots and lots of leaks, yes?  Are they just leaks, or is it starting to rain.  Anyone spot Noah?  But I digress… 

Seems to me it’s becoming too convenient to adopt the “good ‘nough” approach these days.  We can rationalize this because we are sometimes surrounded by leaks – who will notice one more?  Well, if we were master craftsmen like my Father-In-Law was, the answer to that question is - we would. 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.