Chapter 74. Remember That None of Us Has to Be Here

I once worked with a fabulous manager. Sadly he is no longer with us but I remember all the managerial stuff he taught me. He was one of us—seemingly. On the surface he played the company game, discreet, charming, efficient, hard-working, but deep down this man worked for no one but himself.

Bob was an individualist, a rule breaker (but not these Rules—most of these came from him), nonconformist, maverick. He trod a fine line. He was Mr. Cool Dude.

Sure he got the job done and done extremely well, but he was a managerial rebel. He and I were scheduled once to go on a manager’s training course. Guess who failed to show up? Yep, Bob. He wasn’t going to make LEGO^® models for anyone.

I went. I made LEGO^® models. I toed the company line. Guess who got promoted? Yep, right again. Bob.

So how did we get here? Ah, moaning. I moaned. Bob would say, “None of us has to be here.” And he meant it. Literally. Literally none of us has to be here. We don’t have to do the job. We can walk any time we want. This means we are here by choice. We have chosen to be here. We choose to be here each and every day. It is our choice. If we have chosen to be here, then surely it means we are enjoying it—or we wouldn’t be here? Right? If we aren’t enjoying it, then we should choose not to be here.

Basically what Bob was saying to me was, “Stop moaning—enjoy it or leave.” This doesn’t mean you can’t point out the things that are wrong, but if they aren’t going to get solved you’d better learn to live with them. Enjoy it or move over and let someone else do the job who will. None of us has to be here.