Quotes About Work

In knowledge work … the task is not given; it has to be determined. 'What are the expected results from this work?' is

One of the most powerful skills in the world of knowledge work, and one of the most important to hone and develop, is creating clear outcomes. This is not as self-evident as it may sound. We need to constantly define (and redefine) what we're trying to accomplish on many different levels, and consistently reallocate resources toward getting these tasks completed as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Sometimes, however, you may need greater rigor and focus to get a project or situation under control, to identify a solution, or to ensure that all the right steps have been determined. This is where vertical focus comes in. Knowing how to think productively in this more vertical way and how to integrate the results into your personal system is the second powerful behavior set needed for knowledge work.

Taking the inventory of your current work at all levels will automatically produce greater focus, alignment, and sense of priorities.

While Horizon 5 (purpose and principles) is obviously the most important context within which to set priorities, experience has shown me that when we understand and implement all the levels of work in which we are engaged, especially the Ground and Horizon 1 levels, we gain greater freedom and resources to do the bigger work that we're all about. If your boat is sinking, you really don't care in which direction it's pointed!

In knowledge work . . . the task is not given; it has to be determined. 'What are the expected results from this work?' is . . . the key question in making knowledge workers productive. And it is a question that demands risky decisions. There is usually no right answer; there are choices instead. And results have to be clearly specified, if productivity is to be achieved.

capturing ideas and input will become more and more critical as your life and work become more sophisticated. As you proceed in your career, for instance, you'll probably notice that your best ideas about work will not come to you at work.

The game of work and the business of life are really the same thing, when it comes down to the principles and behaviors and techniques that eliminate distraction and foster beneficial focus.

As Peter Drucker wrote: "In knowledge work . . . the task is not given; it has to be determined. 'What are the expected results from this work?' is . . . the key question in making knowledge workers productive. And it is a question that demands risky decisions. There is usually no right answer; there are choices instead. And results have to be clearly specified, if productivity is to be achieved."*

In knowledge work . . . the task is not given; it has to be determined.

We're never really taught that we have to think about our work before we can do it; much of our daily activity is already defined for us by the undone and unmoved things staring at us when we come to work, or by the family to be fed, the laundry to be done, or the children to be dressed at home.

That's why I maintain a healthy skepticism when people want to get control of their work and life by "setting priorities." This is often just an attempt to sidestep responsibility for what they've been engaged with irresponsibly. My choice is always to go for cleaning up the garage of their work, their life, and their head. Then the priorities, the vision, and the plan emerge—grounded, with solid roots.

The greater the volume of thoughts you have to work with, the better the context you can create for developing options and trusting your choices.

Una visión sin una tarea no es sino un sueño; una tarea sin una misión no es sino un trabajo penoso. La conjunción de una visión y una tarea es la esperanza del mundo. —INSCRIPCIÓN EN UNA IGLESIA DE SUSSEX, INGLATERRA, ALREDEDOR DE 1730.

Ella helped. Yes, she was a dreamer, but she had a way of doing her work without any fuss. She didn't understand the struggles some of us went through. If you had to write 1500 words you wrote 1500 words. You put one word then another then another then another.

Find something to believe in, Carter, other than your work. Because when you leave this life, you leave work behind. If that's all you have, then you have nothing. And eternity is a long time for nothing.

Decker shook his head and stood. "It goes beyond mere eccentricity. She also has a run-down farmhouse and a crappy car that she drives to work and on her rounds as the proverbial Good Samaritan." "What does that tell you?" "If you were a spy and had

Hard, dangerous, unhealthy work was better performed by slaves than those who were free. Or who thought themselves so.

Results in the real world came from slow, dogged work, compiling facts and building conclusions and deductions based on those facts. And a little luck never hurt either. A

Well, that's way above my pay grade

most things worthwhile in life, you get back what you put into it.

But he was also scared, because you did not go into his line of work, or at least survive very long in it, without a commonsensical understanding of your own mortality.

Bay to the west continued to pound the little spit of land. She had departed from Robie feeling both hopeful and lost, such an unsettling feeling that she was unsure from which end to work through it. If there was even a way to do so. For most of her

David Thomas: What do you think is the worst crime that could possibly be committed? What is the crime that offends you most? David Bowie: Seeing a man humble himself in his capacity as a worker to somebody else, and having to have that accepted as a given situation.