Blog 1871 – 11.07.2020

Sinbad and the Genie

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EgbHmydIyuOX9xqp51aKsY8FSRXFpWYs/view?usp=drivesdk

Sinbad and the Genie

Today’s short fairy tale has much meaning and there are so many directions that one might go blogging about it. Here is the one I choose. In my working career I have heard countless motivational remarks, usually from management trying to get that last ounce of, if not devotion, productivity from employees. One of my personal favorites is, “Work smarter, not harder.” That really appeals to most workers who see many of managements ideas for increased productivity as just more work for them to accomplished in less time with fewer tools and less support. Big ideals that closely resemble ole Pharaoh’s plan to increase brick production by his Jewish slave population, “More bricks and now you have to gather your own straw to produce them.” Just how exactly was that then or is it now a productive idea?

Sinbad in the story after freeing the itty bitty green genie finds himself having to deal with a huge hungry green genie instead, but although stronger and bigger in size the genie is out witted by the cooler head of Sinbad the sailor man, and without performance enhancing drugs or foods like spinach, Popeye, or super powers or technology, Superman or Iron Man. Sinbad uses the genie’s overblown opinion of himself to shrink him back down to a more manageable size.

Any problem/challenge, no matter how huge it may seem, can be overcome if we calmly and deliberately break it down to manageable steps. As the old saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Please, everyone, let us keep elephants off the menu for we have already killed far too many of those noble creatures for their ivory and to make silly umbrella stands.

Working smarter not just harder requires thinking outside the box and not just looking for short cuts, which more often that not adversely affect quality and result in the loss of business and customers. And though that may be one way to cut employees and production costs it is not a particularly good one. Smart empowered workers are always looking for and open to ways to do their jobs better, faster, and easier. Smart management incorporates employee ideas and input into business decisions. Well, in a perfect world they would.

Most people prefer a wish granting genie to a giant hungry one but what we get without smart thinking and well thought-out work usually disappears about as fast as it came leaving us just as ignorant and often even more poor in the end. Winning some or learning some are the far better options. “Thoughts become things, choose the good ones.”

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QrJAhw1bVeK_j18JqeXTx9qCvu6C8YQa/view?usp=drivesdk

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