work

2024 Suggested Resolutions: Try to be a little unreasonable in 2024

| jaylazzo

And fight for the life you want. The price you pay for being easygoing is not getting what you want.

Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/514GbZfVnBL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

This advice calls to mind something that author Steven Pressfield wrote in his smart little book Do the Work. He wrote

Stay stupid. Follow your unconventional, crazy heart.

Steven Pressfield in “Do the Work”

Children, what do they know? Precisely because they know nothing, they’re creative, they’re courageous. They feel everything is possible. They know it, that’s why many are stubborn. Adults, on the other hand, know so much they can pose a million reasons why anything will not work.

Pressfield is saying: “Stupid” and “Stubborn” is to have child-like energy and daring even as adults. An added benefit is that people who have energy attract others who are willing to go on adventures and can contribute to the mission of those adventures. In contrast, people who are too reasonable give up often even before they start, thus failing to attract even the beginning of a team.

(Q.C., 240105)

Suggested Canon on the Philosophy of Work

| jaylazzo

Professional work requires a high level of specialized knowledge and training, is governed by a set of standards and ethics, and typically provides a service to others. A profession is often constituted as a community or institution that enforces technical standards and its ethics. An institution also transmits knowledge allowing experimentation and innovation without the need to reinvent the wheel.

Institutions remind professionals of the values the institution represents. Four elements make this possible, allowing the institution to sustain its function as a form of practica memory : its objectives, its values, its method of transmitting learnings, and its canon.

I suggest such a canon in the list below.

Image: https://www.jlconline.com/training-the-trades/review-shop-class-as-soulcraft_o

“Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work” by Matthew B. Crawford:

This book explores the author’s journey from a white-collar job to working with his hands and reflects on the intrinsic value and fulfillment that comes from skilled manual labor.

Image: https://cdn.kobo.com/book-images/87ec6afa-c30a-4e4e-8b5d-653963244815/1200/1200/False/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance.jpg

“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig:

Combining philosophy and a cross-country motorcycle journey, this book delves into the idea of “quality” in work and life, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness and care in one’s pursuits.

Image: https://cdn.kobo.com/book-images/97384b3d-cdf3-476f-a876-094aaf5867cc/1200/1200/False/the-fountainhead-1.jpg

“The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand:

Although controversial, this novel tells the story of an individualistic architect who values his work as an expression of his own integrity. It explores the connection between passion, individualism, and the pursuit of excellence in one’s profession.

Image: https://cdn.kobo.com/book-images/11cc59b5-7b19-40e3-8d8a-de1538cfa5e7/1200/1200/False/deep-work-1.jpg

“Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport:

Newport discusses the value of deep, concentrated work in a world filled with distractions. The book emphasizes how dedicating focused time and effort to meaningful work can lead to both professional success and personal fulfillment.

Image: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6c/50/e7/6c50e71c7d1574b2155701b1afc9629a.jpg

“Do the Work” by Steven Pressfield:

Pressfield’s book is a concise guide to overcoming resistance and doing the work necessary to achieve your goals. It highlights the satisfaction that comes from pushing through challenges and completing meaningful tasks.

Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/81sH7bbdfEL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

“My Life in France” by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme:

This memoir of renowned chef Julia Child showcases the joy and fulfillment she found in her culinary work. It underscores the idea that passion for one’s craft can lead to a life well-lived.

Image: https://jaylazzo.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cce5b-cognitive-rsa-05-drive.jpg

“Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink:

Pink explores the science of motivation and argues that autonomy, mastery, and purpose are key factors that lead to satisfaction and fulfillment in our work.

Image: https://cdn.kobo.com/book-images/233196f9-1586-481b-8e71-f8d08357337b/1200/1200/False/meditations-41.jpg

“Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius:

While not explicitly about work, this collection of personal writings by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius contains philosophical reflections on finding purpose and meaning in life, which can be applied to one’s approach to work.

(Q.C., 231228)

From Craft to Art to Sacrament

| jaylazzo

Or: An Exploration of Work and Morals

Ask a Japanese to describe his ethics and he will describe to you a samurai.

Japanese society is quite unique. Here is a nation that is one big institution, where everyone shares the same national aspirations and values — represented by the image of the samurai — and a consistent method for transmitting them.

Allowing for individual differences and dynamism, the aspirations and values of the Japanese can be seen as a complex blend of economic ambition, cultural pride, social harmony, global responsibility, environmental awareness, and educational excellence. These aspirations are shaped by Japan’s history, geography, and cultural values and continue to evolve in response to global and domestic challenges and opportunities.

These aspirations are transmitted formally through schools and various religious rites, and informally through traditional arts. The more familiar ones to Western audiences are the martial art of karate, ikebana (flower arrangement), chanoyu (tea ceremony), origami (paper folding), and many others. Precision, decisiveness, mindfulness, combined with a high degree of skill and a commitment to mastery under the guidance of expert sensei, are learned and imbibed through years of practice.

Katsushita Hokusai (1760-1849), “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” (1829). Woodblock print. Image: https://artincontext.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Famous-Japanese-Art.avif

What interested me in particular was the connection between the arts and the transmission of values. As I delved into the subject, it became clear that art transformed the artist, and not just in an intellectual or practical sense. The moral and spiritual transformation of the artist is, in fact, the objective of all serious art. This would be the ideal for all work as well.

In contemporary society, work is often seen primarily as a means of earning a living. However, when we delve deeper into the nature of work and its relationship to human morality, we find a progression from craft to art to sacrament. Each stage of this progression reveals a deeper layer of significance about the moral dimensions of work.

The first stage of this progression, craft, represents work as a skill or trade. Craftsmanship embodies the virtue of diligence and the moral value of commitment to a task. A craftsman applies knowledge, skill, and dedicated effort to produce something useful, typically demonstrating a high level of proficiency and attention to detail. Through craft, we see the moral principle of responsibility coming to the fore – the craftsman is accountable for the quality of their work, and the craft itself requires dedication and consistency. In practicing a craft, one also learns patience, humility, and respect for the materials and tools one works with, further reinforcing the connection between work and moral values.

The next stage in the progression is art. If craft involves skills employed in a trade, art elevates these skills to a higher level of creativity and self-expression. Artists pour their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of the world into their work, bringing an element of the subjective into the objective reality of the physical artwork. The act of creating art instills the virtues of imagination, empathy, courage, and authenticity. The artist needs to be brave enough to reveal their inner world and authentic enough to stay true to their vision, even in the face of potential criticism. Through the creation and appreciation of art, we grapple with questions about truth, beauty, and the human condition – inherently moral considerations.

The final stage is sacrament, where work becomes a spiritual endeavor. In religious traditions, a sacrament is a physical act that signifies a spiritual reality. When work is seen as a sacrament, it is viewed not only as a way to make a living or create something beautiful, but also as a path to spiritual development and self-transcendence. Work done in the spirit of sacrament is imbued with a sense of purpose and vocation, transcending the mundane and reaching towards the divine. This understanding of work nurtures virtues like compassion, self-sacrifice, and reverence. Work becomes a means of serving others, contributing to the community, and participating in the broader cosmic order. The moral values associated with work at this level are about fostering unity, harmony, and love.

From craft to art to sacrament, we can see a deepening relationship between work and morals. At each stage, work fosters certain virtues and moral principles, shaping not just what we produce, but also who we become in the process. Ultimately, the progression from craft to art to sacrament invites us to view work not merely as a job or career, but as a craft that hones our skills, an art that expresses our unique selves, and a sacrament that connects us with a higher purpose.

I assume that this ultimate outcome may be described as good and, therefore, beneficial. However, not every individual enjoys the benefits of this progression.

The progression from craft to art to sacrament in the context of work can be obstructed by several factors. These barriers can hinder an individual’s or a society’s ability to move from seeing work merely as a trade or skill (craft) to a form of self-expression and creativity (art) and finally to a spiritual or higher calling (sacrament).

  1. Economic Pressures: In a society (and here we speak of “society” at any level, from family to state) highly focused on economic gain, work can be reduced to a means of survival rather than a vocation or spiritual endeavor. The pressure to maximize profits and efficiency can lead to a devaluation of artistic creativity and spiritual connectedness.
  2. Educational Limitations: Lack of education or training that fosters creativity, ethics, and critical thinking can hinder the movement from craft to art. A narrow focus on technical skills without nurturing creativity and moral values can stifle artistic and spiritual development in work.
  3. Cultural Values and Social Norms: If a culture places little value on artistic expression or spiritual pursuits in work, this can hinder the progression from craft to art to sacrament. Societal norms and values play a significant role in shaping how work is perceived and what is considered valuable or worthy of pursuit.
  4. Institutional Barriers: Organizations and industries that have rigid hierarchies, inflexible rules, and a lack of support for innovation and creativity can inhibit the growth and development of individuals in their work. This can stop the transition from seeing work merely as a skill to seeing it as a form of art or even a spiritual calling.
  5. Psychological Factors: An individual’s mindset and attitudes toward work, creativity, and spirituality will play a significant role in this progression. Fear of failure, lack of self-awareness, or a reluctance to explore one’s inner life can all act as barriers.
  6. Technological Overemphasis: While technology can enhance creativity and connection, an overemphasis on technology at the expense of human interaction and reflection can hinder the development of work as an art or spiritual practice.
  7. Political and Regulatory Environment: Government policies and regulations that don’t support or actively hinder artistic expression, entrepreneurship, and spiritual pursuits can also be significant obstacles.
  8. Lack of Mentors and Role Models: Without guidance from individuals who have successfully navigated the path from craft to art to sacrament, it can be challenging for others to see how to walk this path themselves.
  9. Poor Work-Life Balance: An excessive workload and the inability to balance work with other aspects of life can lead to burnout, reducing the capacity to see work as anything more than a means to an end.
  10. Materialism and Consumerism: In a society heavily influenced by consumerism and materialistic values, the intrinsic value of work may be overlooked, focusing more on what can be gained materially rather than spiritually or artistically.

I am especially cautious of the dangers of artificial intelligence and social media, of how they make it easy for a person to become an “expert” overnight. That is, without having passed through the repetitive acts and multiple failures required to develop solid virtues. In many cases, people are even becoming their own instructors and don’t develop the humility to seek feedback. I am not critical about the technologies themselves, as I also use them. But the high incidence of burnout and quitting among young professionals might indicate that they are not acquiring strength of character in their work.

As an educator, I’m interested in encouraging this progression. I must, therefore, consider these influences and work to cultivate an environment where creativity, self-expression, and spiritual connection are nurtured and valued.

Let me take this opportunity of ending to recommend a personal practice that I consider to be formative for many reasons: writing longhand on real paper, everyday. I always carry a bound notebook and fountain pen with me at all times, often writing in restaurants or in airports — any occasion, that is. By doing this I remind myself that writing is a craft, not just a process. The benefits, I can’t deny. When I have a problem, technical or moral, much of the conundrum becomes significantly clearer after I’ve described it and my spilled my thoughts on paper.

(Calamba, 230805)

A little lexical experiment

| jaylazzo

I did an experiment recently that literally, as in literally, tried to turn work to prayer.

I took an extract from a sermon by Pope Benedict XVI (1927-2022), On the Universal Religious Sense given on May 11, 2011. And then wherever the word “prayer” appeared, I replaced it with the word “work”.

The result of the transformation is interesting.

“St Thomas Aquinas, defines WORK as an “expression of man’s desire for God”. This attraction to God, which God himself has placed in man, is the soul of WORK, and it takes on a great many forms in accordance with the history, the time, the moment, the grace, and even the sin of every person WORKING. Man’s history has known various forms of WORK, because he has developed different kinds of openness to the “Other” and the “Beyond”, and thus we may recognize WORK as an experience present in every religion and culture.

“Indeed, dear brothers and sisters, WORK is not linked to a specific context, but is written on the heart of every person, in every civilization. Of course, when we speak of WORK as an experience of the human being as such, it is necessary to bear in mind that it is an inner attitude before being a series of practices and formulas — a manner of being in God’s presence before performing acts of worship or speaking words.

“WORK is centered and rooted in the innermost depths of the person; it is therefore not easily decipherable and, for the same reason, it can be subject to misunderstanding and mystification. In this sense, too, we can understand the feeling that WORK is difficult. In fact, WORK, is the place par excellence of free giving, of striving for the Invisible, the Unexpected, and the Ineffable. Therefore, the experience of WORK is a challenge to everyone, a grace to invoke, a gift of the One to whom we turn.

“In the experience of WORK, the human creature expresses all his self-awareness, all that he succeeds in grasping of his own existence and, at the same time, he turns his whole being to the One before whom he stands. He directs his soul to that Mystery from which he expects the fulfillment of his deepest desires and help to overcome the neediness of his own life. In this turning to Another, in directing himself beyond lies the essence of WORK: an experience of a reality that overcomes the tangible and contingent.”

It doesn’t exactly make for expert theology, but consider what prayer is and how different it is from other activities we do.

Prayer is a spiritual practice that involves communicating with a higher power or divine entity, often with the aim of expressing gratitude, seeking guidance, requesting assistance, or simply developing a deeper connection with the divine. It’s a deeply personal, often introspective activity that requires a sense of reverence, humility, and openness.

Prayer is distinct from other activities primarily because of its spiritual or religious nature. While other activities like working, eating, exercising, or socializing serve various practical, physiological, or social needs, prayer caters to our spiritual needs. That is, it is aimed at transcending the mundane and connecting with something larger than ourselves: spirit.

Moreover, unlike many of our daily activities like work, which are outward-facing and involve interacting with the external world, prayer is often inward-facing. It requires introspection, self-reflection, and a focus on our internal spiritual state.

Work and prayer, two seemingly separate entities, start to become interconnected when we approach our work with mindfulness, devotion, and a sense of purpose. By introducing a higher dimension of purpose and fulfillment, viewing work as a spiritual exercise may enhance our professional experiences .

A substantial body of research suggests a link between spirituality, mindfulness, job satisfaction, and overall well-being, which could indirectly support the idea.

  1. Spirituality and well-being: Many studies have found a positive correlation between spirituality and mental health (Koenig, H. G. 2012, ISRN Psychiatry; VanderWeele, T. J. 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(31)). People who are more spiritual often report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction.
  2. Job satisfaction: Research also suggests that people who find a sense of purpose or meaning in their work tend to be more satisfied with their jobs (Steger, M. F. et al. 2012, Journal of Career Assessment 20(3); Rosso, B. D. et al. 2010, Research in Organizational Behavior 30). If viewing work as a spiritual activity adds a greater sense of purpose, this could potentially increase job satisfaction and happiness.
  3. Mindfulness: Turning work into a form of prayer often involves mindfulness – a deep, focused attention to the task at hand. Mindfulness has been linked with reduced stress, better emotional regulation, increased focus, and improved job satisfaction, all of which can contribute to overall happiness (Good, D. J. et al. 2016, Journal of Management 42(1); Hülsheger, U. R. et al. 2013, ). Benefits of mindfulness at work: the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology 98(2)).

How one perceives one’s work can be influenced by various factors, including individual beliefs, personal values, workplace environment, and the nature of the work itself. What works for one person may not work for another. And while these practices can contribute to increased happiness, they aren’t a guarantee for all work-related challenges. The pursuit of happiness, particularly in the context of work, is a complex and deeply personal process.

This discussion thus far has focused on the profit aspect of having a good habit. But what seems to make prayer truly spiritual in the religious sense is transcendence: what happens in the here and now — the benefits — are secondary to the idea of living within a timeless reality where success and failure as we know them are less important than serving an eternal and timeless God no matter what. This would be closer to the idea of worship. In religious traditions, work performed with the right intent and integrity — “it’s more important to do the right thing than to do the thing right” — can be considered a form of prayer or worship. For example, in the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text of Hinduism, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to fulfill his duties without attachment to the fruits of actions – a concept known as Karma Yoga. Here, work becomes a path to spiritual enlightenment, emphasizing the importance of duty and righteousness.

Similarly, in Christianity, the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians says,

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

Colossians 3: 23-24

This conveys the idea that work done with passion and integrity can be an offering to God, elevating daily labor to a form of divine service.

Considering work as prayer has far-reaching implications. First, it infuses our work with a greater, and by this I mean a timeless sense of purpose. When we perceive our work as a spiritual practice, even mundane tasks acquire even the sense of a meaning whose fruits extend through time, and even as expiation for past wrongs.

Secondly, it encourages a stronger commitment to ethics and integrity. If we view our work as an offering to the divine, we are likely to be more conscientious, honest, and committed to high standards. This is especially true when one considers rewards in their eternal sense, e.g., in Christianity, the idea of heaven and hell. Also, work as an offering to the divine has a priestly aspect, when the offering is made so that the community walk with or return to God.

Thirdly, work as prayer can help cultivate joy. Here I speak of a joy that is not dependent on the contingencies of the here and now. In other words, a joy compatible with the busyness, stress, and even tragedies of life.

By embracing this divine perspective, we transform our work from a mere means to an end into a fulfilling, spiritually enriching practice. The blurring of the lines between the sacred and the profane invites us to experience the divine in our everyday lives, making our work itself a form of prayer, a spiritual journey towards self-discovery and enlightenment, for our good and for our community.

And then, something else: we realize that work transforms us.

Changing the words of Pope Benedict’s sermon had OK, including some of that transformative effect, which I choose not to detail. Such intimate matters of the soul are rarely appropriate in a blog. But do try this experiment of replacing prayer with work in any relevant text, and meditate on how this lexical transformation might affect your life.

Photo credits:

Sagrada Familia Cathedral (https://cdn.britannica.com/15/194815-050-08B5E7D1/Nativity-facade-Sagrada-Familia-cathedral-Barcelona-Spain.jpg)

Antoni Gaudi (https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/kunstwerke/1200w/Pau%20Audouard%20-%20Portrait%20of%20Antoni%20Gaudi%20c1878%20-%20%28MeisterDrucke-630828%29.jpg).

Etsuro Satoo (https://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/p20-sakurai-sotoo-b-20170402-870×489.jpg.)

Epilogue

The architect of the great Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Antoni Gaudi said:

“Man does not create, he discovers.”

Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926)

His disciple Etsuro Satoo (1953- ), currently the chief sculptor at the Sagrada Familia said in an interview:

“Why do we build the temple of Sagrada Familia? A simple question: why do we build? We do not seek beauty in the vanity of men. No. The Sagrada Familia is a tool for building us. Gaudi left the temple half finished. The temple of Sagrada Familia, perfectly built the man Gaudi.”

Etsuro Sotoo

Etsuro Satoo joined the Sagrada Familia team in 1978. He was so transformed by the project that he joined the Catholic Church in 1991.

(Calamba, 230726)

The crafting of the soul

| jaylazzo

This is an essay on work. I will stress only parts of it. Work as Service, Work as Failure, and then we end with a Parable. It’s a very short talk, so stay awake.

The first part was inspired by a talk given by Dr. Paul Dumol years ago, where he talked about how words we use shape how we work. The word hanap-buhay highlights income. Trabajo, Spanish actually, highlights tedium. And the word gawain highlights activity. Altogether, in the filipino language work means a tedious activity that earns income. Figure out for yourself the implications of that.

But what do the Japanese use? They use the word shigoto. Literally, shigoto means a service done to others. The concept is profoundly spiritual. Hence, Japanese are proud if their work contributes to someone else’s, and ashamed if it doesn’t. You are familiar with that photo of a Japanese train conductor bowing deeply to passengers to apologize because the train was 2 minutes late. It matters little what the work is: Japanese street sweepers love their craft as executives do. This mentality has been changing, with the lifting of lifetime employment and the prevalence of hikikomori — young Japanese who refuse to work — but the basic value is still shigoto. And we still see it in the high quality of Japanese products.

Now, for the second part, Work as Failure.

Failure is really two things. First, failure in the mind. You expected your career to be wonderful, but it’s not. You expected rapid promotion, you’re still stuck. You’re tired, harassed. You’re afraid of making mistakes. You made a big mistake. Now everyone thinks you’re incompetent. You wanna quit.

So far, so good.

Then you quit. Ah, now you REALLY failed. That’s failure in act.

We all fail in the mind sometimes. You think a guy like Elon Musk is mostly positive? Even the best of us feel down, stupid, discouraged, we feel like imposters, and we can feel this hundreds of times a day.

But what makes some people great is that they stand up and deliver regardless of how they feel. Great work is rare not because genius is rare, but because relentlessness is rare.

So then your thoughts don’t define you; only your actions do. And action is the key to changing thought. So, guys, be relentless. Do what you have to do in spite your dark thoughts, your blunders, and the chaos in your world. Be relentless when the only thing you have left is relentlessness.

These verses were nailed on a ship’s mast:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve their turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the world and everything that’s in it,
And—what’s more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), “If”

If you don’t download this poem that I just cited
One of the best to be penned by Rudyard Kipling
You’re screwed.

Finally, a parable.

Image: https://journals.sagepub.com/cms/10.1177/07475284231164466/asset/images/large/10.1177_07475284231164466-img1.jpeg

Once upon a time in Florence there lived an old sculptor and his young apprentice. Their days were filled with a sacred rhythm of rituals, a dance between man and marble, chisel and hammer. Even if they were sleepy, dawn always saw them preparing their blocks, examining each for hidden faults and grains, followed by the sharpening of their tools, a process as meticulous as the act of carving itself.

The studio was littered with remnants of their toil. Discarded blocks with flawed faces and malformed limbs lay strewn. But the sculptor taught his student that mistakes were stepping stones on the path of mastery, showing the way by not being the way.

One day, after months of labor and a myriad of shattered blocks, a beautiful statue stood in the corner of the studio. It was the statue of a horse, his face radiant with divine grace, his mane flowing like a gentle river. The student sighed in admiration, “Master, it’s beautiful. Our work is complete.”

The old sculptor, a smile on his face, nodded, his gaze shifting from the statue to his apprentice and back to the shards scattered across the floor. “Yes, it’s beautiful,” he agreed, “but it is not the only work that’s complete.”

The student, confused, looked at his master. Who, understanding, elaborated, “We may have made this statue, yes, but it’s just an echo of our journey, not the destination.”

“Look at these discarded blocks,” sweeping his gaze across the littered floor. “Each is a moment we learned, an occasion we improved, a time we grew. See that one there? Remember I forced you to make it because you were so discouraged? See how it turned out? These discarded prototypes are the building blocks of who we are now.”

The student looked again at the littered workspace. And felt the beginnings of mastery.

“Every time we strike the hammer and chisel, we make a choice. Choices carve a habit. Habit, a virtue. Virtue, a character. Character, a destiny. The greatest work of art that comes out of this studio,” the sculptor said, “is our soul.”

(Q.C. 230712)

The work ethic of Anton Chekhov

| jaylazzo

My favorite fiction writers? Stephen King, John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Michael Crichton, Guy de Maupassant, Fyodor Dostoevsky. But one writer is not on this list who should be, a master of the mundane whom I have not read until now.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is one of greatest writers of all time. He was a contemporary of Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), and others. Unlike the great Russian novelists, he mainly did short stories. Also unique to him is that he wrote about the banal, the ordinary. He did not psychologize like Dostoevsky, or moralize like Tolstoy, but only wrote about what he saw. And unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not put the peasants on a pedestal. To him rich and poor have the same problems, all strive for moments of joy in lives just as filled with moments of misery.

LR: Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Anton Chekhov. Image: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2CC5TGX/photo-for-leo-tolstoy-maxim-gorky-and-anton-chekhov-with-good-resolution-2CC5TGX.jpg

Chekhov wrote:

If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.

Anton Chekhov

This advice is known as Chekhov’s Gun. It says that every element in a story must play a part in the story. This led to a minimalist style that has become characteristic of today’s stories. Chekhov is considered the father of modern fiction.

But it is the man’s work ethic, not his writing, that first got me interested to know more about him.

While there are no definitive records of the exact number of hours Chekhov wrote each day, it is well known that he kept a disciplined and consistent writing schedule. His productivity suggests that he devoted a significant amount of time to his craft.

What have I learned about his discipline?

Chekhov would spend hours every day writing, revising, and perfecting his stories and plays. I think his schedule would not be very different from that of another minimalist writer, Japanese author Haruki Murakami (1949 – ), for whom we have more precise information: Murakami spends the first 4 to 5 hours of his day writing.

Chekhov was a practicing physician. He managed to write and to heal by dedicating specific time blocks to each profession. We know he spent 3 hours a day, 6 days a week seeing patients in his clinic and on house calls. His output attests to his time-management skills.

He was deeply committed to his writing, continually honing his skills and developing his unique realist style. He placed a strong emphasis on creating vivid characters, engaging dialogue, and exploring the complexities of human nature. He had the best beta readers and correspondents, his friends Tolstoy, Gorky and other members of the Russian literary elite.

He faced numerous rejections early in his career, but he persisted in submitting his work and learning from feedback. He himself did not realize and in fact felt a little embarrassed to learn that he had, in his lifetime, become one of the most significant literary figures of his time. He died of tuberculosis at 44 before knowing that he had become one of the most greatest literary figures of all time.

Chekhov, the doctor, had very sharp powers of observation. He incorporated his experiences and observations of people and society into his work; if his short stories were read in chronological order one would in fact be reading his autobiography. He had a keen eye for detail, which allowed him to create realistic and relatable characters and stories. He aggressively pointed Chekhov’s Gun on his work and polished it to great precision and clarity.

I greatly admire Chekhov’s discipline, dedication, and a commitment to his craft. I hope I can adopt his ability to balance multiple roles and to persist in the face of rejection.

(Q.C. 230407)

LBN’s Three Rules for Corporate Success

| jaylazzo

These are good times. New proposals to write, new classes to prepare for. But it is when things get exciting that I recall Warren Buffet’s advice: “Be careful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are careful.”

Investment advice, to be sure. But, regardless, aren’t we always investing energies?

And so, the time for being “fearful” is a time to ask: Are we keeping our eyes on the road after having spent a lot of that time contemplating the sunset? Are we paying attention to the basic practices of our business?

And so I also recall a set of counsels that I call LBN’s 3 Rules for Corporate Success. These are:

  1. Whatever you say, if you don’t make money, you’re wrong.
  2. You work for your boss, not your company.
  3. Take care of your people.

LBN is the president of one of the biggest corporations in the Philippines. He also happens to be my uncle. More than 30 years ago, still a junior executive, he used to pick me up from school. Once he told me about the top things he learned as a protege being groomed for a top position at San Miguel Corporation.

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Keep a Compelling Scoreboard, Downloaded from https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/0*XpLiLwgeIs-jhiry.webp

He said, “I learned, first, whatever you say, if you don’t make money, you’re wrong.”

Badass words one picks up on the rat race through the corporate jungle? In fact, he was referring to a basic principle of EXECUTION.

Planning is just a little more difficult than daydreaming, and just as useless if not followed through with what McChesney, Juling and Covey in The Four Disciplines of Execution refer to as the most neglected of skills. They wrote “People want to win. They want to make a contribution that matters.” Hence, part of the skill of execution is to Keep a Compelling Scoreboard. Money, what more compelling score is there?

Now if that score is not moving, one HAS to question what one has been doing or NOT doing. Many of the arguments I hear thrown across a meeting table have to do with plans, values, goals. Outright, we could say that a goal that we can’t measure with a score is a bad one. People will also argue that plans and values are difficult to measure, especially values. But in the end, only the score proves — directly or indirectly — whose plans, values and goals were “right”.

“Right” here does not have to mean the opposite of moral evil, but doing the morally right thing usually means doing the “reasonable” thing, which means it is likely to work and to leave lasting results. You can resign from an evil corporation, and become poorer, but in the long run reason will hopefully be proved right: you won’t be named as defendant in an expensive lawsuit.

“Second,” he continued, “You work for your boss, not your company.” He told a story about how one of the executives got into an argument with the boss. The executive argued that what they were planning to do was not in line with company policy. The boss had him transferred.

The company will never be as much in contact with the ground as your boss. For this reason if you and your boss fail it is NOT the company that goes to jail. So why should I give more loyalty to my company than to my boss?

Furthermore, if you’re surrounded by a large number of goals, many of them from some corporate bureaucrat in HQ, how are you supposed to tell which are the “wildly” important ones? The company looks at the lag goals such as profits and market share over which you and your team have little direct control. Instead, you and your team look at the lead goals, the goals that are immediately under your control, such number of sales calls made per week, which lead to the lag goals.

Besides, who will get your a** if you don’t deliver?

Your boss.

But what if the boss tells you to do something unethical? Let me tell you a story.

A friend of mine, then a medical resident, was a victim of sexual harassment. When she was thinking about filing a case with the administration, her direct supervisor advised her to “let it go”. This not only meant “accept it”, but also meant “we in our team have more important problems than stupidities from some immature man-boys, and even if this were unethical the events that will unfold would not be worth the aggravation it would cause me as your boss and you as the filer of the case.” My friend filed the case. And won. Then she had to leave the hospital: working conditions for her had become unsupportive.

Dynamics and politics matter; face the effin fact. Except where substantial losses are foreseen to devastate many people (see Rule #1) it is best to keep your dirty laundry away from corporate.

“And third,” LBN continued, “Value your people.” This is the easiest to understand; after all “There is no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM'”. Even if the boss receives an award, he should know it would not be possible without the team, without the janitor, the security guard, the lady who mans the xerox machine. A good boss makes work PERSONALLY fulfilling for everyone involved.

Personally fulfilling means, most of all, that people know how to make the right choices. They can set goals important to them, choose the actions that lead to those goals, and also make the team’s goals their own. If we should praise then we should also punish, for the right reasons. Reasons that they learn and that they will apply to police themselves. A cycle of accountability that involves both reward and punishment, goal setting and goal discarding, decision analysis, situation analysis should be in place with this one aim: to make people free, empowered, and responsible.

I gave the title LBN’s Three Rules for Corporate Success because that’s where the Rules came from. More than 30 years later I find myself in academe, yet the Rules still serve as a frank reminder to look away from the captivating landscape from time to time and to stay rooted on the road.

(Q.C., 230211)

Rome and my office were not built in a day

| jaylazzo

I was impressed, then despondent when I saw this beautiful office. Why is mine not like it?

Don’t compare; it’s easy to feel discouraged when we only see the destination. The little steps people took everyday were ordinary for the day. What one does everyday is small, achievable, within budget for that day. It’s taking this step, or not taking that one, daily that leads to a destination.

Whatever work we might be involved in, we are in the business of marketing and of giving information. A very good sign that a workplace is productive and healthy is when it celebrates its achievements. These can come in the form of brochures and giving talks. Most of all, it comes in the form of collaborations. Collaboration in turn accelerate output and increase the quantity and the quality of the marketing and information.

What simple things can we do everyday?

  1. Talk to people. See what they are doing, what results they are getting, what ideas they have, what plans they have. Decide, brainstorm, assess. Ask for funding, support, and advice.
  2. Inspect the state of the facilities. Identify what needs replacement or repair, and thinks about additions.
  3. Write, plan to write, edit, send material out for comment or publication. Read. Analyze information.

Assistant do most of the work in an office or lab. They know what they want to do, what they have to do, and are able to do them consistently and well. They should also get the resources to do them. In most cases they will also want to build fulfilling relationships, get mentoring, and get connections and recommendations that move them along their own career plans. We get a glimpse of how healthy an office is by looking at how supplies are kept and the neatness of the workplace.

Signs that things are not going well include state of the equipment, the lack of marketing materials, absenteeism (perhaps even of the boss himself). White elephants are not only revealing; they take up space and serve as a constant reminder of a lack of productivity. And of bad decisions.

An important cause why offices degenerate is the lack of conscientiousness on the part of the boss who does not do the things I listed above. He may do them extremely well at times, but what matters more than excellent work is consistent work.

It’s not even about drive. I agree that we have to do what we love, or love what we do. No one has a problem with getting excited. It’s what happens after that which gives us problems. The mood will often go dark, frustration will eat into resolve, and discouragement will rear its ugly behind. Love is where the energy will come from to get through all that.

Love and smarts. I have many ideas. More recently I found two software that make work more fun. Scrivener makes writing fun (I’m using Scrivener to write this), and the Obsidian note taking app turns reading into a game. We have our favorites. Do share.

There is a place for hobbies and recreations even in an office. These, too, have to be done consistently — like weekly jogs or monthly excursions. Although they are not part of the external marketing of the unit they are part of the internal marketing essential to the healthy ambiance of the team.

(Cebu, 230125)

Quiet Quitters

| jaylazzo

I learned about Quiet Quitters browsing Youtube today.

Quiet Quitters will not open emails after 3 pm. There may be good reasons for that, but in their case they do not read emails because they are afraid to confront what’s might be there.

Doctors, who usually don’t have a clue anyway, wish that the symptoms will disappear by themselves; we all wish our problems will just disappear on their own. It is right to postpone deciding if a decision is not needed right now (Falkland’s Law).

Quiet Quitters, however, procrastinate. They discover that an “urgent” task needs doing, or they find a reason to browse Youtube, as an excuse. Yet it’s just so much better to be over with the d**n thing, in whole or in part, delegate if needed.

Decisive action requires accepting the pain, not fighting it.

Steve Magness in Do Hard Things describes an experiment. Subjects (athletic coaches) were paired and pairs were seated facing each other, knees almost touching. The researchers instructed them to stare into each others’ eyes for a minute. To cope with the discomfort people looked at foreheads, giggled, fidgeted. As one minute turned to two, the unease became even more unbearable. However, as the minutes turned from two to three and three to four, subjects became more and more relaxed as they accepted their condition. The experiment ended in five minutes with a heightened sense of camaraderie.

Magness describes a similar experiment with male and female pairs. The researchers got the same results, and a bonus: some of the couples fell in love and married! Magness then described his personal attempt to replicate these results during a date but failed.

The experiments show that we can get enormous control over ourselves if we accept pain rather than fight it. Pain, in many ways an emotion like any other, is not compatible with action. If AFRAID, you SPEAK LOUDER. When in pain, act, don’t procrastinate. Open that email. Make that phone call. Say sorry.

Quiet Quitting can be unethical. You cheat others, you cheat yourself. And for what? A temporary reprieve from pain, which only returns for the issue that caused it remains unresolved.

Quiet Quitting makes you less useful to others. A mindset fixed on avoiding pain ends by avoiding service. A Quiet Quitter might look intense at work, but in reality may just be going through the motions. He will not have many ideas about how to improve the work place, though he might have detailed options about where to eat that night. Facebook, Instagram and cell phones make it possible to do a lot without doing anything.

Understand that many people have become Quiet Quitters during the pandemic and may be in a worse mental or emotional state than it appears. If you can help them now with firm, gentle reminders, just do it, now, don’t procrastinate.

(QC, 230122)