Respect The Work
I'm unsure where does this post come from.
From what I re-collect, it stemmed from just finishing up a podcast by David Senra on Jony Ive. I was really fascinated by Apple's design and voila, Senra was ready to serve.
I remember going through the notes and finding this quote. And man, it's stuck with me. It's a godsend answer to all my problems.
Respect the work.
It just doesn't mean paying focused attention. It means nurtured obsession. From ideation to execution and even before that, all of it. Respecting the work implies acknowledging the due weight the task has on your life. Doing your laundry may feel stupid and monotonous, but it's impact? A well-pressed shirt positions you as a man who knows his shit. Colourful socks? There's a man who manages to pay attention to even stuff that isn't usually noticed.
Why does AmEx succeed? Because they provide the due respect to every step of the process to keep the customer satisfied.
Yes, I am reading into it and will I change my understanding of the quote? Absolutely not.
But this obsession to provide the due respect any task deserves. That's the only path to success. Within providing due respect comes listening carefully. Within due respect comes upskilling to give you 100% for a new challenging effort. Within due respect comes burning the midnight oil to gain something. Within due respect comes studying the tape.
A little hard? Nah, applying this is too tough to bear. It requires more than just providing due respect. It requires you to pay attention to detail, it requires you to have clarity of thought. It requires you to plan every implementation. To obsess over the mundane. It's too tough to put into practice. But life's never easy. We need to do it. To understand that what it takes is demanding, but it is something that's achievable. A methodical, incremental roadmap improving everyday is better than giving up after a week.
We need to respect the work.