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“It’s not worth doing something unless someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren’t doing it.”
Terry Pratchett
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In business … trust me on this … if you do something worth doing I can almost guarantee that someone will not only much rather you were not doing it, they will most likely be quite vocal in telling other people you shouldn’t be doing it.
Why?
Mostly because if it is worth doing it is going to:
<a> go against the status quo or against the grain
,or,
<b> will force some version and degree of change
, or,
<c> make people ‘do something.’
Regardless. Suffice it to say. Inertia is seductive.
Shit.
Status quo is seductive.
Shit.
Not changing is … well … easier.
Fighting all of that stagnancy is … well … a sense of progress. In business once things are moving and even a glimpse of progress is in view <or even the hope of some progress at some point> anything else worth doing doesn’t seem as attractive to a lot of people. Yes. That includes, inertia, status quo & not changing.
I am not suggesting everything you do will be truly meaningful and even if it is meaningful it will, or should, create angst among people. To be sure many, if not most, things you do in everyday business simply is to keep the engine running. And don’t fool yourself into believing these things are not important because they are.
But some things, maybe the most worthy things, THOSE things I can guarantee that someone would rather you not do them. I imagine my real point is that in business you often know you are doing something right, or something meaningful, when someone somewhere would rather you not be doing it.
I will also suggest that being able to discern what is worthy and what is not is not easy. Sometimes you can tell and sometimes you need someone else to tell. And, yet, ‘someone else’ will not always be able to tell … nor always be right.
Oh.
And you may not be able to tell or be right.
Shit.
Doing something worth something is tough.
But.
That said.
Here is all I really know.
If you actually do something worth doing <whether you can tell it is worthy or not> someone, somewhere, would much rather you not doing it.
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author’s note:
it seemed right to solely use Hugh McLeod Gaping Void cartoons with this Terry Pratchett thought and business thinking. I highly recommend any of Hugh’s books and using, and crediting, any of his illustrations.