Dear male reader,
Productivity. Hence, again, I need must implore you to bear with me over the delay in the letter concerning hair and its symbolism. I do not deny that it is an interesting subject for me nevertheless, there are far more pressing matters than that of hairs. This borders on an aspect of work ethic: productivity. In this letter, I shall share with you key points from a teaching I gave at my home church.
I have often argued that creativity is expressed mostly in the “how” in that what is more often than not celebrated as new is mere ‘iterations over time: diluting the message, obscuring the original” according to Hugh in The Big Lebowski. What you do is important but how you do it makes all the difference. It determines whether you get to keep your job, and your customers or not.
As a man, you should be gainfully employed. The Bible is clear on that as seen in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone is unwilling to work, let him not eat”. If what is available is sweeping the streets, take it. You should have a natural hatred for idleness. Never feel at ease having no work. But what is work? Work is any “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.” This primarily brings about financial gain. On the other hand, work ethic refers to how you do your work. Tutti Taygerly in How to Develop a Strong Work Ethic explains that “Work ethic refers to a set of moral principles, values, and attitudes around how to act at work.”
Nevertheless, our main focus shall rest on productivity. Productivity refers to one’s ability to take less time to complete a given task. Here, we are not only concerned with speed, but also the quality of work done, which is at the heart of productivity. The Japanese have a word for it: Kamiwaza. It is loosely translated as doing something like the gods would do it. More often than not people shy away from pouring themselves into what they do; a form of mediocrity that has come to be accepted and even celebrated. Sometimes, it is because these people want to have more to give when they are asked for more.
“More” has become the dreaded four letter word in industries. You would even find people closing deals or signing customers later than they should because they are thinking of making the next quota for the next fiscal year. This is a common practice among marketers. See, it is the nature of industrialists to demand for more. Nevertheless, this is not an invitation to be in the league of those who take an inch when given a mile.
Other times, these people are just that- lazy; and accustomed to doing just enough to get by. Let us try something out: stop reading and raise your hand. Raise it higher. Now, ask yourself why you did not stretch out your hand the first time you raised it. There is your answer.
I digress. Productivity thrives on efficiency. Nonetheless, no-one has ever achieved efficiency simply by playing it safe. It comes with continued reviewing of the processes, and reiterations of valuable feedbacks that work. As Seth Godin said, “Do what you did yesterday, do it faster, do it cheaper. ” In the end, what you do moves towards being a system such that another can try the same steps and get the same results. Thanks to productivity, the world we know now exists. “How can we travel?” “How can we travel faster?” “How can we travel to the same points differently?” Indeed, necessity is the mother of invention, and to know what is necessary is to ask the “how?” question.
When we seek to be productive in our work, we better understand the saying, “more haste, less speed,” in that productivity induces a sense of urgency. I frankly think about the servant who buries his talent in the ground in Matthew 25: 14 – 30. He is not a productive servant! He is the accurate depiction of unproductive workers: they are lazy; they think they know better than their master (if you think you know better than your master and still say with him, you are a fool); they are ungrateful (learn to be grateful for “small” opportunities to show your skills even when you think you deserve more, because how you handle business in the slums of Lagos is how you will behave in Buckingham Palace); and they always lose.
Though the reward for hardwork is more work, the reward for riches is more riches. We see this in the text. People pay for the solutions we provide and the quicker we provide these solutions, the quicker we will have wealth.
Remember this, you matter. Leave a mark in this world and do not float through life. Productivity calls us to do things with “no wasted motion.” Do something and do it fast!
The chief patriarch,
Frank.
