A Job Well Done

Well, this topic has been buzzing in my head for the last half a year. And it was a very recent news that has prompted me to give words to these thoughts.

And before we go onto the actual source of inspiration, just have a look at a conversation my friend and colleague depicted to highlighted the importance of work. 

~~

Person 1 - Hi.

Person 2 - Hi. How are you?

Person 1 - I'm fine, Thanks. How about you?

Person 2 - I'm good too, Thanks. What do you do?

~~

Well, what we can see here is that the thing that you do (the work) comes as one of the first things that identify you. And that in itself highlights the importance of the work or the job you do.

And if it is one of the most important things, it goes without doubt that you would want to excel at the work you do. This is more to make you feel good about it rather than make for someone else. 

Like Indian cricket skipper M.S. Dhoni said after India's victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - "I had a point to prove to myself and to no one else."

If a job is well done, you feel proud about yourself. And you feel you have done due justice to the task assigned to you. Importantly, you feel that you can give a pat on your back!!

The job can be extremely simple or amazingly complex. It might takes hours and days and months to complete it, or it can be done within a matter of minutes. It can be done with a lot of effort or with a simple and innovative idea. 

It can be done under a lot of limelight or it can be done quietly.Whatever may be the case, it does not reduce the importance of the job executed. It does not diminish the significance of the work done. 

A job well done is a job well done. Come what may!!

Let's consider my humble job - that of a software programmer. What brings a smile on my face? 

It can be a small piece of code which works like a champion. It can be a small idea which stands the test of time. It can be a small thought which rolls up a chain of ideas. Or something which simply brings in a smile on someone's face.

While no job is too big or too small, too important or less important, a few job profiles are simply awe-inspiring.

Here is a picture of a few pilots and some air hostesses.

You must be wondering what's special about the picture. 

Well, these guys were abroad the Qantas Airbus A380 super jumbo from Singapore to Sydney on 4th Nov 2010 when an engine caught fire mid air. On board were 459 travelers. And at stake were the life of these people, and the destinies of their close friends and family back on earth.

Under these trying circumstances, the pilots flew back a whole of 15 minutes to bring the mega bird back to earth, and saved the lives of these people. 

The image below is from the same Qantas jumbo just after it landed back at the Changi International, Singapore. You can see the burnt out engine, as fire engines try to cool it down.

Most importantly, you can see the modesty in the crews behavior, in spite of them being heroes. You can feel their sense of quiet pride and relief. You can feel the calm with which they executed the complex task at hand.

It was a truly commendable achievement. And a job well done!! 

The second news was about India's Prime Minister - Manmohan Singh. Just a few days back, he had an conversation with journalists on board his official aircraft.

Asked by journalists on board Air India One on his way back from Kazakhstan about five things he would like to achieve in relations with Pakistan, Singh, said, "Five would be too much. Well, if I can succeed in normalizing relations between India and Pakistan, as they should prevail between two normal states, I will consider my job well done.''

Doesn't it impress you that a prime minister of a very big nation also is closely thinking about the task he thinks he should execute to feel proud about himself?

The task isn't simple by any means. It can't be executed with a definitive plan. Yet, there is an aspiration to complete the job. And surprisingly, he was not chosen to complete this job. Yet he feels obliged to complete it.

And if he does, without doubt it will be a job well done!!

Well, to conclude, all of us don't have a job which is as complex as illustrated above. However, that does not dilute the significance of the job that you do. That does not reduce it's importance.

If you think that you can give a small pat on your own back, or feel the pride with a twinkle in your eyes, it's a job well done!!