Photo by cell105

As we get toward the end of the year, people in my area of expertise (finance) tend to get busy.  Very busy.  It starts just before Thanksgiving, and just gets crazier as the end of the year gets closer.  So today it’s Thanksgiving, and I’m planning on slacking off big-time.  Because when the bell rings on Monday, all Hell will break loose.

To everything there is a season…

Some professions have their busy seasons, while others don’t fall prey to quarterly reporting like finance and accounting people do.  In my case, these are the engineers, who work on projects that may span years.  Sure, they have certain milestones to meet along the way, such as Technical Readiness Reviews, Critical Design Reviews, and Functional Bench Tests, but these aren’t contingent on the calendar year.

I guess it’s just not my season

So, for my friends in Engineering, the time after Thanksgiving is slack-off time.  Holiday parties are arranged.  Extra vacation time is burned.  Trips to Rockefeller Center to see the tree are taken.  I know this, because the ranks are thin in Engineering during the holiday season.  I had one guy tell me years ago, as I was going balls to the wall in order to get home at a decent hour, that he was “pretty much finished” with his work for the year.  This was two weeks before Christmas.  I must be in the wrong racket.

Personal Standard of Excellence

So, as I kick myself in the ass for not becoming an engineer, I see that my technical brethren are just enjoying the spoils of their craft.  I can’t blame them for exploiting the peculiarities of their profession.  But even if I had the opportunity, I don’t think that I’m wired for slacking off.  I think way back to college, and one of my business lessons that dealt with motivation and the responsibilities of managers.  My favorite teacher, Professor Stanford, told us a tale of a worker who lowered his productivity to that of his coworkers.  One of my fellow students thought that the worker was smart for not “rocking the boat.”  Prof. Stanford admonished him for not upholding his own personal standard of excellence, regardless of what those around him were doing.  Wow.  That one really hit home, and I carry it with me to this day.

Less bullshit, more work

If I think even farther back, I had a lesson in not slacking off from my older cousin, on a roofing job.  His was less subtle, however.  It went something like, “Less bullshit, more work”, accompanied by an angry shake of his fist, but the message was basically the same.  He was also bigger and could beat the crap out of me, so work hard I did.  I consider it a primer for Stanford’s more elegant lesson.

So, before you slack off, think about your personal standard of excellence, and whether you want to risk compromising it by getting caught goofing off.  But, you can goof off today.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Gobble ’til you wobble!

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