Hercules-the Greek demi-god who held the world  on his shoulder without moving a step did no work. Jones, the last European Physics teacher in my yesteryear school-and there has not been one since-repeatedly taught that Work is a factor of force and distance.  Hercules used a lot of force to hold the whole world on his shoulder but since he remained stationary-covered no distance-his vast force never translated into work.

career

Hercules who held the world on his shoulder without moving did no work.

To do great work, you need to feel that you are making a difference; that you are putting a meaningful dent in the universe; that you are part of something important. Hercules did no work because he did not move, did not act.

Individual differences on performance are a function of three predictors namely knowledge, skill and motivation. It is important to know the ‘what to do’ and the ‘how to do’ of a job or given task but the real mover of these two predictors of performance is ‘motivation’.

According to Campbell (1990), motivation is “a combined effect from three choice behaviors- the choice to expend effort, the choice of level of effort to expend and the choice to persist in the expenditure of that level of effort”.

The choice to expend a given level of effort in a particular direction persistently, demands “personal discipline’’. It demands the ability to respect and adhere to principles, set rules, values and procedures as well as adopt a positive attitudes towards job performance. It also implies taking initiative.

Climbing the career ladder can be  a herculean task. We are quite often weary – buckling under the weight of our own promises and the frustration of our inertia.  A career – the like of the one envisaged in our emotive dreams- requires striving to earn our clients’ long term loyalty by working to deliver more than promised, being honest and fair and “going the extra mile” to provide exceptional personalized service that creates a pleasing life experience.

Little by little, rung by rung we must carry the bits that define our task  on our shoulders. Most importantly we must move. In the movement – the coverage of distance –we cover not only height but also meaning. EE