How to be an effective contributor
“Let me tell a story that may help clarify the subject of targeted effort,” said the Wealthy Gardener.
“I once coached a youth basketball team. I told the kids to hustle, to do their best, and to outwork their opponents. But my advice only made them busy, frantic, and exhausted in the games. And they became victims of unrewarded hustle.
“And so I made a chart of key statistics,” he continued, “and I tracked the stats of impact for their games. Now the kids had objectives. They stopped being busy and frantic, and they started to grab rebounds, take charges, steal the ball, and care about shooting percentages.
“By tracking these key statistics, it was clear that some players ran around on the court with no impact in the games, while others made huge impacts as measured by key statistics.”
The Wealthy Gardener leaned back, satisfied he’d made his point.
Jimmy nodded. “I could use impact statistics for my work.”
“We only have so many hours in a day,” said the Wealthy Gardener. “Without objective measures, we are like my players who believed hustle was their only goal. Our impact is the goal. Many adults never grasp the difference between hustling versus contributing. Statistics clarify it.”
Jimmy leaned back with an enlightened expression. “It would explain why my results vary despite giving the same effort during my ten-hour days.”
“It is as you say,” agreed the Wealthy Gardener. “In all pursuits, there are vital activities that produce winning results. These are the objectives of work. We must focus on impact statistics to direct our work on the winning.”
– Excerpt from The Wealthy Gardener
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