Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

I’ve blogged ad nauseam about how the WHY is so much more important than the HOW. In other words, it is the meaning behind what you are doing that is far more important how you carry out the activity. In fact, you could even extend this axiom to imply that the WHY is not only more important than the HOW, but it is more important than WHAT you do as well!

I recently was given a copy of Never Eat Alone, a book on networking by Keith Ferrazzi. I had low expectations for the book, having been through numerous middling works that teach me less than I already know. I’ve been been very pleasantly surprised by Keith’s book. It is full of practical advice and some interesting theories based on his own experience as a young rising star in corporate marketing and consulting fields.

Anyway, Keith has a newsletter service that sends tips based on topics from his book. Today’s tip was very intriguing…referencing a story from Jon Gordon’s book, The Energy Bus;

“There’s a story about when President Lyndon Johnson visited NASA and as he was walking the halls he came across a janitor who was cleaning up a storm, like the Energizer bunny with a mop in his hand. The president walked over to the janitor and told him he was the best janitor he had ever seen and the janitor replied, ‘Sir, I’m not just a janitor. I helped put a man on the moon.’…Even though he was cleaning floors he had a bigger purpose and vision for his life. That is what kept him going and helped him excel in his job…So drive with purpose today and every day and cultivate it in your team and they’ll not only stay on the bus when it’s cruising but they’ll also get out to help push it when it breaks down.”

Wow! This just about floored me. A janitor putting a man on the moon. Puts work in a whole different light doesn’t it? Today, I wasn’t just working on a PowerPoint presentation, I was helping to move Microsoft one step closer to putting opportunity in the hands of every child in the world, through ubiquitous, powerful and affordable computing. Might sound corny, but when you think about it, it is TRUE….and it is VERY MOTIVATING.

What were you helping to accomplish today?