Good Work

The little things matter most.

When I started this thing, this publication, this newsletter, these random musings, or whatever these sketches are that I send out into the ether, I purposely called it Switter’s WORLD, with an emphasis on the important things to me in world as I have experienced it. The more I write, the more I understand my world and recognize its uniqueness. I remember making lists as a kid of what made me who I am. I listed my experiences, skills, books I read, music I listened as a way to understand, all the things that made me different from you. Along the way, I began to think of other people I knew in a similar way. Sometimes I thought about how different I was from a certain person. Other times, I realized how similar I am to certain people and how I often gravitate towards those people. Just as often, I form friendships with people whose perspectives and personalities are so different from my own that it’s as if I have discovered an entire new world.

One thing I alway valued was good work, not only work that I found personally found enjoyable but also the work that represented the goodness of the person who did the work. I remember finding and reading a book written by E.F. Schumacher, a man who influenced my choice of career after I read his book Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. He talked about appropriate technology, which is doing things at a human scale that benefit people and are controlled by the people who benefit. I enjoy seeing people adapt tools to do things important to them and that reflect the values and character necessary to achieve their purposes. For example, when I first arrived in Zimbabwe, I met a young man who built a very sophisticated sailplane with very simple tools that when combined combined with his determination, steadfastness, discipline, and skill resulted in an amazing creation. It was flawlessly beautiful and perfectly suited to his design purpose. It was also a testament to his character.

Schumacher wrote another book that helped me further understand the human necessity and meaning of good work. The book is called simply and appropriately Good Work.

I was reminded of the book’s core message this week when I collected a pair of boots I left for a cobbler to repair. They were reasonably well made to begin with except for a couple of eyelets that broke and the boots were nowhere near beyond repair. He agreed to do the work, made a few suggestions based of his experience, told me the price, and said his daughter would deliver them to me, because she lives in our little valley. Everything he promised was exactly what he delivered and more. He never promised to treat the boots with leather softener, which he did, and the hand delivery of the boots was above and beyond the call of duty. But what impressed me most was that the laces were neatly tied. The work was an excellent portrait of the man’s character and his devotion to his craft, and it all exceeded my expectations. Those repaired boots are an all too rare example of what our culture once was to a greater degree than it is now, and it is parable of how we could make our culture and sense of community more excellent.

I think of other things I want to write about on this topic, and I plan to, but for now, I simply want to say to those who want to make the world a better place, start with the simple things first. Make your work an example of your highest ideals. As one grows in care and skill, one’s ability to make big things better also increases, but only if the simple things are never neglected.

Remember the lessons from the shoe guy if you want to do great things in life.