Making work meaningful through simplicity.
Stuck in the grind of the mundane but necessary, we often lose sight of the greater purpose of the company we work for.
That’s where great communication and vision come to the fore.
In the 1960’s, the space race was a huge topic. Which country would get there first. USA or Russia. When President Kennedy walked through the halls of NASA headquarters one night, he saw a janitor working late and still mopping the floors. He asked him why he was working so late? The janitor replied ‘because I am not mopping floors, I am putting a man on the moon’
Whilst this tale maybe a myth it does demonstrate an important lesson.
When people find meaning in their work, everyone benefits. The company benefits because its employees work harder and smarter, and employees benefit as work is an important part of life for success and well being.
NASA distilled the complexity of the space race into something simple and tangible that all employees could grasp. And it achieved its goal by winning the space race.