What Matters

One day while sitting in the Dallas Forth Worth Airport, I noticed a custodian pushing a cart full of trash. His job was to go along the airport and empty the trash cans and put new plastic liners in. No one noticed his activity, no one except me! Watching him do his job, very efficiently, the thought occurred to me that no one noticed perhaps because not many people would consider what he was doing as vitally important. Everyone was just too busy to fully appreciate the significant benefit his tasks were bring to the airport operation.

However, if the custodian were to let a week pass before he emptied the trash, he would get a lot of attention. The custodian would become one of the most important people in the operation and then, everyone would notice. The new found attention would not be because of what he had done, but because of what he had not done. Often in our daily tasks we are find ourselves doing things that aren't monumental in and of themselves. These are the tasks that are not noticed and rewarded if they are done, but get a lot of attention if they are not done. Many of these tasks may seem unimportant, but if left undone, incomplete or poorly executed , they can have the multiplying effect of disrupting the entire process. Make sure to do every task with a clear understanding that the results of your efforts, no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time, matter.