To be productive can be extraordinarily rewarding. But it also sometimes comes with side effects, one of which is “burnout.” Usually we think of burnout as resulting from overwork, as overtaxing oneself by spending too much time or effort. But this is not always the case. Sometimes burnout can arise not from how much you do but what you do…
Because we are beings of mind and body, all of our productive work involves both ― both thought and physical action. But the proportion of the one versus the other can be very different, depending on the nature of the work. In his study of early American expansion, The Winning of the West, Theodore Roosevelt observed: “The life of the…
“That unequaled spirit of enterprise, which signalizes the genius of the American merchants and navigators, and which is in itself an inexhaustible mine of national wealth.” So said Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 11. Referring to what he observed in the producers of his time and place, his comment also describes many producers around the world today. Perhaps most interestingly, he…
In his treatise, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, economist Joseph Schumpeter describes what he calls the “process of creative destruction,” by which new products and services supplant existing ones; for example, the automobile’s replacing the horse and buggy. Such “destruction,” he stressed, is the natural outcome of business competition, but not so much the competition among existing firms, rather competition from…
Curt Gowdy, the legendary sportscaster, once thanked Ted Williams, the legendary baseball player, for making him a better announcer. Williams respectfully scoffed at the idea, replying that he didn’t know anything about announcing. But Gowdy explained that, No, what had improved his announcing was observing Williams’s approach to hitting, that Gowdy had been struck by Williams’s commitment to understanding the…
A wall display in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris describes the origins of Impressionism in painting. Included in its description is this passage: “The Impressionists wanted to paint their own era. They uncovered its modernity in the stations, avenues and cafés of Paris, in popular leisure pursuits on the banks of the Seine, and in suburban landscapes where industry was…
An article in the New York Times today recounts the economic collapse in Venezuela. Amid the chaos, local governments are overwhelmed and failing, such that, “armed gangs took control of entire towns.” Examples cited include looters who ransacked a hotel, “ripping out even window frames and cable wiring,” and gangs who “extort and rustle cattle from the surviving ranchers.” In…
Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. ― Alexander Graham Bell
Along with the horror of witnessing the burning of Notre Dame comes the reminder that no matter how long and arduous can be the process of production, how swift can be the process of destruction.
As a college freshman I took a course called Engineering 1 from the great James Adams. James Adams is the author of Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas, one of the earliest books to integrate concepts from fields as diverse as psychology, art, business, engineering, and philosophy. In that course, Professor Adams gave us an assignment: (1) think of…