50 Shades of Brown

Having to be the boss comes with many rewards and quite a few headaches. I’m still rather new at it, most days I really enjoy it, but there are moments when I really question the cosmos, the orbit of the planets, and some deep philosophical ideals when managing people.  I have come to understand that what I expect from my crew is the same standard that I live by.  Probably not fair, but that is how my brain works.

When I was a kid, I helped around the house, but in general, I lived a carefree life. Like many kids, there came a time when I wanted to buy things (or have my parents buy them) but I didn’t have money.  My parents came up with a terrific solution. Chores.  Now some chores were standard chores that we pitched in and helped with because we all lived at the house.  I took care of my bunny rabbits. They were mine so I did that for free. All weather, no exceptions. But other things that my parents wanted; they were willing to pay me for.  Usually yard work. Mowing, cleaning up limbs, trimming bushes, etc. 

I remember that mostly I was very cooperative with them, but there were moments when I saw them as unbending ogres who were making unreasonable demands of an 8-year-old boy.  Specifically, sometimes they wanted me to rake what was mowed because it had gotten too long, or I needed to weed-eat the lawn, or the time with the branches.  The branches were from my dad trimming the suckers that grew straight up from the apple trees.  Every year you had to prune them, or the apple trees would get out of control.  We had two, a Jonathan, and a Yellow Delicious.  I enjoyed fresh apples in season, and applesauce the rest of the year. But to have those delicious treats, we had to take care of the trees.

I don’t remember the circumstances exactly, but I do remember my response one year.  I told my parents that I didn’t want the money, so I wasn’t going to clip up the suckers so that we could throw them away.  I was reasonable, kind, and polite.  The response I got wasn’t.  You agreed to do this, so just do your job. I’m sure I tried all sorts of ways to convince them to change their mind (I’m told I can be charming), but no, they wouldn’t budge.  It came down to the threat of grounding that finally got me to do it.  I don’t remember it being hard. I don’t think it took that awfully long, and I’m sure I didn’t like doing it, but I did it.

I was 8 years old.  That stuck with me. My parents always made me follow through with my commitments, with what I agreed to. That came in very valuable to me later in life.  It engrained a stubborn streak in me.  When it comes to work, if I agree to it, if I am getting paid to do it, I’ll do it to the best of my ability to the quality being asked for. If I don’t like it, I’ll still finish what I agree to.  Once it is finished, I don’t have to agree to do it again, or in the case of the whole job, it’s time for me to move on.  I can’t imagine doing sloppy work on something that I was asked to do, that I agreed to do. There have been plenty of times that I was told to do something that I had no choice, and I did just what I had to do, but if I agree to it, you will get my best, every time.

I used to coach and referee basketball.  I was decent at both.  I put a lot of effort into them.  I used to get a lot of requests to referee.  I turned many of them down.  When asked why, I said because I hate to do it.  But you are GOOD at it.  Yes, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it.  I did it well because 10 kids deserved my best on the court so that they could do their best.  

If you agree to do something and get into it and discover it isn’t to your liking, I encourage you to finish it to the best of your ability.  In the end, you will know that you didn’t quit, people can count on you, and that you have a delightful stubborn streak that serves you well.  Just do your job.