The back end of the shovel

My first ever summertime job was digging ditches. It was a great job: working with grownups, making $1.00 an hour, working shirtless outside in the Texas sun and getting a fantastic tan (we didn’t know about UVA or UVB, melanoma or looking like a prune when you’re 50!).

I learned a lot that summer. I learned about the honor in work, the satisfaction of a job well done, the way men talked around each other, the different ways the “new kid” is treated (ignored, hazed or mentored) and the simple joy of quitting time (and payday).  

One day while digging, I noticed the foreman standing over to the side watching me.  Wanting to impress the boss, I began to dig like a demon.  My arms were flailing and I soon became surrounded in a cloud of dust. 

As I paused to regain my breath, the foreman, Bob, ambled over and said, “Randy, you’re really working hard, but you haven’t dug much of a hole for all the effort you’ve put in. You’re in so much of a hurry that you’re only filling up the front-end of the shovel. If you would slow down and focus on filling the BACK end of the shovel, the front end will take care of itself.”

Every time I find myself getting caught up in things, I’m reminded of these wise words. If I want good performance, I need to focus instead on the people who will deliver the results. That is, I need to focus on making them successful rather than hammering them on “the numbers.”  If I want people to treat our customers and each other with respect, I need to set a model for them by treating them and everyone else with respect. If I’m worried about what might happen in the future, I need to do something today that will prevent it. Or if I have no control, I shouldn’t waste time by stressing and worrying about it.

Bob had no idea of the lesson he taught me that day. If he would have known that he was going to be quoted 40 years later, he probably would have been more succinct and used an earthy Texas axiom: It’s easier to clean up after the dog than to keep swatting flies.