Focus success

When I was the CEO of a construction company someone walked into my office holding a paper. 

“Sir, I want a job. Here’s my bio-data.”

“What job,” I asked

“Any job, I just want a job.”

No corporation has ‘any job.’ They have specific jobs. No one is going to give ‘any job’ to anyone.

If he were a construction engineer, labor supervisor, mason, carpenter, plumber, surveyor, crane operator, steel fixer, cleaner, tea boy or an accountant I would have been interested. Nobody wants a person who has no particular skill.

There is a tendency for many of us to be a jack of all trades. Even professionally employed people dabble in things they are in no way connected with. Imagine doctors and Engineers reading politics and getting involved in heated discussions about the current politics of the state and the nation. It is OK to get to know what is going around but to dissipate one’s energy in an area they are not connected with defocuses one’s  mind. They do not get time to update themselves on the latest trends, discoveries and developments nor are they able apply their minds on what they are engaged in. They pull on perfunctorily just for the pay. They will be contributing, less if not nothing, to the job.

I met a few of my engineering college classmates after 15 years. They were all employed in the Public Works Department (PWD) of the state with good pay and perks. They could make a few bucks in other ways too. They were supposed to ensure quality in and timely completion of buildings, roads and bridges. 

‘After leaving the college we have not touched a book or read anything on engineering.. You are lucky as you have to read to teach the students.’

They followed the PWD codes of practice and they were not all that bothered about the new standards of quality or the latest developments and innovative methods.  They had to sign the attendance registers and do the bare minimum to get fully paid.

This could be the way many of the government departments function in the developing societies. Employees lack focus and they are inefficient.   

To succeed in anything we have to use our minds totally and fully. If we learn to focus on what we are concerned with or what we want to accomplish in life we can dramatically improve our productivity and the results.