PhilMur's thoughts on biz/tech/money/life

I have taken a hiatus from blogging for the last couple of weeks or so, partly because my wife and I took a week of vacation.  It was our first big trip in quite a while, and so we chose to go to the country of Belize.

Needless to say, it’s a beautiful country — it pretty much stays between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit at all times year round.  We were “wowed” by not only the beautiful beaches and fascinating nearby jungle, but also by the tremendous hospitality and attitude of service of the local Belizean people.

There were many manifestations of this throughout our trip, but one sight in particular blew me away.

The resort we were staying at had fabulously well maintained grounds, and every morning as we walked to breakfast, we would see workers trimming the roses, sweeping the walkways, or working on the lawn.  Usually the lawn work included the raking up of a few leaves that may have fallen over the past 24 hours or so.  One morning, however, we saw a worker picking up a few leaves by hand over a decent-sized patch of grass.  That really struck me as an incredible commitment to excellence.  The leaves were not extensive and were largely buried down among the medium-length grass, and so the worker was pulling leaves out of the lawn without the aid of a rake, as we had seen workers use on other mornings.

It is true that a person’s choice of tools to solve a particular work or business problem does not necessarily determine that person’s level of commitment to excellent work, BUT it is true that a person’s work ethic and character are truly revealed when the tools and resources they might prefer are not at their disposal or are not easily utilized.

The worker we saw could have easily passed over the area, as the leaves were not visible from even just a few feet away.  But he had a job to do and he was determined to do it, with no pride keeping him from pulling the leaves up out of the grass from his knees.  There is a lot to be said for the internal drive demonstrated by that small act.

Keep an eye out for excellent performers around you– and model your approach after them.