The only way to stand out when doing undifferentiated work is to work harder
Summary
- Manual labor or any other kind of work which can be done by anyone needs working longer and longer hours to stand out.
Details
- Example of digging soil - difference between individual is not noticeable. Unless you work hours longer.
- Taking a week off to design a shovel looks crazy. Success requires shamelessness.
References
Quotes
The only way to outperform if you’re doing undifferentiated work is to
work harder than everyone else. Imagine a team of ditchdiggers working with their hands. A slight variation in the amount of soil moved per hour isbarely perceptible. Your work is indistinguishable from that of the person next to you. The only way to move more dirt is to dig for longer. Within this paradigm, the ditchdigger who takes a week off to experiment and invent the shovel seems crazy. Not only do they look like a fool for taking a risk, but their cumulative production falls behind for every day they are not digging. Only when the shovel comes along do others see its advantage. Success requires shamelessness. So too does failure.