Posts Tagged Theodore Roosevelt

Photo by Ed.ward

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” - Yogi Berra

Many of us were stuck last week awaiting further clarification on a hot assignment that was due later in the day.  The assignment could be interpreted in two different ways.  Most of my coworkers literally stopped in their tracks;  they were paralyzed by not having complete instructions for carrying out the task, and didn’t want to proceed, lest they waste their efforts.  I, on the other hand, took a novel approach:  I did the assignment twice, covering each possible outcome, while they contemplated The Road Not Taken.

Woof, woof

We’re used to following instructions.  Do Step 1 before proceeding to Step 2.  We’ve been conditioned throughout our childhood so that we can become good workers when we graduate college.  We’re not taught to question authority; that would be counterproductive in a corporate setting.  But this leads to a dependence upon management, the Alpha Males and Females in the wolf pack called Corporate America.  We’re kept in a suppressed state of puppyhood, always following, never leading, waiting for the next order to be barked at us.

Lone wolf

So when one of my coworkers asked for my opinion on how to proceed, my answer shocked her.  “You’re going to do it both ways?  Isn’t that a waste of time?”  Well, it’s also a waste of time to sit around and do nothing while you wait for an answer.  I figured that if I finished one part of the assignment before receiving the instructions, I had a 50-50 chance of being right, and of having the assignment completed.  If I guessed wrong, and “wasted” my effort, I would still be in the same boat as everyone else, so no harm, no foul.  It can be summarized on the following crude flow chart.  Click on the thumbnail for a larger view:

If you follow the timeline on the left side of the flow chart, you can see that I saved myself about 4 hours because I decided to forge ahead with my assumptions.  My coworkers, who waited for precise instructions before even starting the assignment, finished 4 hours later.  While I was diving headlong into the exercise, they were carping about lack of communication, et cetera, et cetera ad nauseum.

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” - Theodore Roosevelt

So, unlike the protagonist in the Robert Frost poem, I didn’t have to wonder about the road not taken, because I took ‘em both.  I chose the wisdom of a New York Yankee over that of a New England Yankee.

And THAT has made all the difference.

• September 2009 Recap Photo by LeSmou Imperator September was a good month, if you're a New York sports fan.  The Bombers clinched another division title, and the Giants are undefeated.  Now, if A.J. Burnett can get himself straightened out, and the Giants don't suffer any more injuries, October should be even better!......
• Slacking Off at Work 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......
• The Trojan Horse of Purchased Vacation Photo by quaziefoto It's signup time for our annual benefits elections at work, and one of the options that we have is the ability to "purchase" additional vacation time.  What this means is that you can elect to have the company deduct from your paycheck the cost of this......

• AIG Execs Caught Wasting Even More Of Our Money After Bailout. My Two Dollars reader Chris email me this story last night because he knows how much this kind of crap bothers me! Turns out that the $440K spa trip that the AIG executives took after they took our bailout money wasn't the only giant "screw-you" that they said to us......
• San Mateo County Hike in Pillar Point Location: This trail is located at Pillar Point in San Mateo County as part of the San Mateo County Harbor District The Hike: This is a 1.2 mile walk out and back that begins at the outskirts of the Princeton Harbor and ends at the beach. Distance: This is......
• Beading Instructions An Important Tool For Beading One of the most significant tools before you start your beading is the beading instructions. Often, beading instructions can be found in beading kits available on your local bead stores. Beading instructions are important because not all beading projects are simple to grasp. Most of the pretty beading products are......