Cool Things I Learned From my Grandfather

Image via Wikipedia

My grandfather is probably the single greatest role model in my life. He lived up the street from us when I was a kid and, because he was retired and my dad was working, I spent more time with my grandfather. We used to make all kinds of gadgets and gizmos. He was a pretty decent woodworker and we would make wooden machine guns or model airplanes. We spend a lot of time on plastic models and also making tissue and balsa wood flying aircrafts. I learned a lot from my grandfather. Here are a few of the tips that I picked up from him and have carried through my own life and career.

1. Plan: My grandfather never did anything without first formulating a plan. It didn’t have a to be a massive, elaborate plan, but there did have to be a plan. Even for something as seemingly simple as moving a rock in the yard, he would devise a plan and execute it.
2. Enjoy the Process: My grandfather enjoyed that process of formulating a plan and seeing it through. He wasn’t entirely about the end result – though by planning and executing properly, the ends results came and they were typically impressive and proper. One example of my grandfather’s planning and enjoyment of the process came in the form of his model rail-road hobby. My grandfather used to draw out incredible, detailed, and elaborate plans for track lay-outs. He never actually built most of them, and in retrospect I don’t think he ever intended to. I believe he enjoyed the mental exercise of sitting down and making plans.
3. Prioritize: My grandfather understood the steps involved in a given project and knew which needed to come before the other. I think in this modern age we all think “multi-tasking” is the key to efficiency, but I think this couldn’t be further from the truth. Multi-tasking to me is another word for “multiple distractions;” and I would lay odds that someone who plans, prioritizes, and lays out the actions of the day will always get more done than the person who re-shuffles their tasks and priorities every time the phone rings.
   Keep in mind that my grandfather worked in an era before we had e-mails and cellular phones. In fact they didn’t even have anything close to modern computers when my grandfather’s team sent a man to the moon! I’m not knocking technology, when it is used properly it is an incredible tool; but modern technology can also be a time-killer if it is allowed to. It can consume people and cause them to lose focus of priorities and the bottom line.
4. Pride: Take pride in a job well done. My grandfather never did anything he couldn’t do properly. For example, when he and my grandmother were hosting a party my grandfather constructed an elaborate “Wheel of Fortune” style spinning wheel complete with lights that lit up as the arrow spun around it. That kind of thing was fun for him – he derived enjoyment and pride from taking even the simplest task and doing it properly and sometimes extraordinarily.

In these modern times we are constantly driven to achieve results, and often no one seems to care how these results are obtained. That’s why we are seeing all these businesses collapse and all these cons and shams. We need to get back to a time where we take pride in the processes, in the work we do. If we do this, they success will follow. If we are only focused on results and neglect the process, then we are doomed to repeat the mistakes that have lead to our recent economic turmoil.