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JDYJ

Jan 20th 2009Business & Life

A year or more ago when I was at max frustration with the internal politics of our billion dollar bureaucracy, I mentioned to a very good friend that wouldn’t it be cool if our motto was JDYJ – “Just Do Your Job” – and every time any inside-the-company shenanigans occurred, we quickly popped JDYJ.

A couple months later, JDYJ showed up on my office wall and I reminded myself every time I walked in the office that I personally needed to JDYJ.

Appropriately, the Captain of the plane that landed in the Hudson River is attending the inauguration at the invite of the President-elect.  That Captain is a great hero for saving the lives of the 155 people on his plane.  BUT, that Captain has announced time and time again since the heroic landing, “I was just doing my job.”  Our President-elect picked up on that and said something like, “wouldn’t it be cool if everyone just did their job.” 

In honor of that pilot, I’m committing myself once again to JUST DO YOUR JOB.  I’m committing myself to eliminating the hallway chatter and water cooler talk that can debilitate an organization.  I’m committing myself to candor and honesty in my conversations so those that I depend on and those that depend on me will never question what I’m thinking or saying.  I’m committing myself to prioritizing my efforts to those most needed by those that expect things from me, and I’m committing myself to delivering beyond expectations in every single thing that I do.

That is after all, MY JOB.  And if at some point, just because I did my job, someone smiles, that will make me smile.  And if, just in doing my job, I can bring many, many smiles to those that work with me, that will be heroic in today’s tough environment.  Obviously, it won’t be heroic on the scale of saving 155 lives with decisiveness and skill beyond belief.  But, certainly heroic in a time when so much despair and anxiety exists and people across this country are changing their lives or having their lives changed for them based on the decisions of others.

JDYJ.  Yes indeed.

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