I tell this story a few times and the importance of 'doing the work'. A lot of times we get busy, overwhelmed and rush projects, task or decisions. Just to check the box that it was accomplished to move to the next pressing task, or to open up our personal time to do the things we want to do. I remind myself of a story my father taught me when I was younger, and when you have a direction - do the very best you can, no matter how small the task.
When I was young, going to the movies was the coolest thing. It was the start of freedom, doing something on your own without your parents around. My mom would drop me off in front of the movie theatre where I would meet by buddies. Grab a drink, candy, popcorn, and start playing video games. Mortal Combat, Street Fighter... and whatever else arcade was there. I am not even sure we went to the movie theatre. But it cost about $20, then my mom would return and head home. I assume she sat in the car, maybe she did her own shopping, not sure, but it might have been great for her to have some alone time.
One day, I asked my dad for $20, theatre time. He simply responded, "sure, no problem, but to earn it, I need something as well. A hole dug in the back yard and like it to be 24x24x24". I quickly grabbed a shovel and came back inside - "all done, ready to go mom?". My dad got up and said "let's go check it out". Unexpectedly, grabbing a tape measure on the way out the door.
What he discovered was more of a circle instead of a square, maybe 16x17x20. He looked at me and I already knew what I needed to do. Frustrated, grabbing the shovel and tape measure I got back to work. This time, I am on my hands and knees. Getting dirty. Removing soil and replacing back, checking measurements, double checking. Packing the dirt with my hands. Making it a perfect square, 24x24x24. It looked good. I checked again. I then told my father I was done and for him to check it out. He looked at me and said "I trust you did it right this time, here is your $20 and do me a favor before you go, put the dirt back in the hole".
I learned such a valuable lesson. Do it right the first time, you will actually save time. Listen to the instructions, actually listen. Take pride in your work. And do favors, not asking for anything in return. Go above and beyond. If you do all of these things, you build trust, which lowers micromanagement. Which increases everyone's productivity.
I hope this helps someone else, and for that, thank you dad!
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