Work Smarter but Don’t Cut Corners!

In the game of life, for the longest time there has been the simplest of ethics, a person goes to work every day and works as hard as they can. Anybody that puts their nose to the grindstone is going to get a great reward, right? And please don’t say wrong, because then YOU are wrong! Of course, that the saying “work smarter, not harder” does have truth to it. Perhaps many of us could probably write a book about that statement.

Now, when needed to work smarter not harder, it simply means make it easy on yourself. For instance, if you’re working a warehouse job and you’re constantly moving around and squatting up and down for 10 hours a day, you need to use the power zone of your body (shoulder to hips) and not bending over or standing on your tip toes.

Otherwise, you will find yourself injured at work either with a bad back, painful legs, or a sore stomach. Also, if you are being asked to deliver several different packages and they are all at a different location, map out where you’re going to go so that you go from one place to another in the shortest time possible, not going from one corner to the next and then passing other locations on the way. You’re burning gas and making things way too hard on yourself!

You hear the saying “let’s kill two birds with one stone” and that also rings true to working smarter. If you can get three errands done in one drive or get two projects done at work on the same document, why would you not do it? Especially if you have the time for it.

Plus combining documents together could save paper at the printer (if needed) and save you some clicks too.

Another example is working at a caddy shack at a country club and during the late morning you start getting golfers coming in to drop their clubs and carts off. What is going to happen is either you will take each cart and park them on the side after taking all of the clubs inside, and then when they’re all gathered clean all the clubs at once and then all the carts at once.

Or you just clean one bag at a time and then take the cart to the side and wash it. Then the same concept with another golfer, and another, and another.

These are cases of simply not overworking yourself when you don’t need to (especially if you work at a golf course in the middle of July!)

Having said that, there is a fine difference between working smarter and cutting corners.

Putting your nose to the grindstone and going that extra mile is a human quality that should never be overlooked or undervalues. In fact, it can be argued that going the extra mile is a more valuable quality than working smarter (though they are both key to mental and physical health).

Here is an example, you are a college student and did the calculations, and you need an 87 percent on a test in order to get a B, so therefore you do just enough studying to where you feel confident enough to do well enough just to get by and get the grade you need.

Or you are working a summer internship and are not doing as much work as you should be while your boss is away knowing that your progress will not be calculated given that it’s an internship. You do just enough though to where your boss is pleased enough to give you a passing grade and you can be all done with internships for the rest of college.

Or of course, cheating. Whether it is tricking a co-worker into doing your work for you, or having a classmate send you their notes so you can copy them down for a homework assignment or project, or even taking advantage of someone who’s not quite as sharp.

If you hear someone say to you “well, if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,” how are you going to react?

Cheating is lying, and lying is wrong, no matter the circumstances.

But take this example into consideration too, if you are a CEO or the manager/owner/president of a big corporation or organization, and there are three people in the running to take over after you retire, all three are different in their own way, who are you going to pick to run the company?

There is Frosty who has always shown up on time, never leaves early, he puts his work in and does everything that he can to create the best results possible, and even though it doesn’t always work perfect for the company, he tries his best at all times and takes full responsibility for any hiccups. Sure, he doesn’t talk as much, and is a little more introverted than the others in the office, but he has a good heart, doesn’t say anything nasty towards anybody.

Frosty’s numbers are also incredible, and he continues to improve himself. What he’s not good at or doesn’t even try is butt-kissing and ego-stroking.

Then there’s slick. Slick is a horrible worker, he doesn’t have a whole lot between his ears, just says what he wants to around those that aren’t above him, and constantly does whatever he can to get by with just enough, and that includes becoming president and making just enough for the company to give him bigger pockets.

Now what Slick is the best at out of the three is kissing butt to the boss and letting him win on the golf course several times when they play together. What Slick says is “You have to kiss that boss’ ass, you will have to go out and play golf with him and lose 80-90 percent of the time. But if you don’t and go out there or if you half-ass it, you won’t get that promotion, and you won’t get that raise.”

He’s also had a co-worker do his work for him before, but he’s so sleazy he feels like he knows just how to slip by the boss and come off as a star.

What do you make of that? Do you personally value butt-kissing over hard-work and diligence?

Then there’s the Rocket. The Rocket does do a little bit of butt-kissing, but he doesn’t mean it that way. The Rocket is so genuine, he will pay compliments to anybody and means every bit of it. He is an A+ at heart, there’s no denying that.

Now what the Rocket also has to offer is a unique mindset. He does have ADD and struggles to pay attention at times even though he doesn’t mean to, and while his numbers aren’t as good as Frosty’s, they’re still above the company’s standards. His boss keeps telling him to keep working hard, do his best, and his numbers will continue to get better.

The Rocket has as pure of a heart as the three, and although his attention span may the worst, he does have some clever ideas every now and then, one that helped launch a new app for the company and create more followers for them.

The Rocket can be a real dark horse at times, and it’s often those with ADD that tend to have more of a unique mindset, and therefore make the big difference in the world (i.e. Albert Einstein or Benjamin Franklin).

This is a difficult decision for the boss as to who his successor is going to be. Frosty, Slick, or the Rocket. Which one would you choose and why?

Life is a beautiful thing, and always worth living through good times and bad. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (good song by the way) but the game of life can’t just be doing the absolute minimum to get by and expect the greatest results.

Even if you do cut corners and have the good luck that always gets you by, and you constantly get recognized for being a good worker and delivering the results necessary, A) do you honestly think that you’re making a difference, and B) how long is that going to last before you get exposed?

There’s no question that working smarter and not harder does come into play in several situations. Don’t make things extra hard on yourself, this world puts enough hardships on people as it is.

But that doesn’t mean by any ways to not have a good work ethic and never work hard for anything. As much as it has 100 years ago, having a good strong work ethic with a healthy mindset of knowing when to work smart is going to get the recognition it deserves, and that’s where the best rewards are felt. Honestly and without sin.

Work smart, but if you’ve got a terrific work ethic, don’t ever lose it! You’d be surprised with what wondrous things it might do for you one day.