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It was Bertrand Russell who said:
“Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth’s surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so.”
He went on to say that the first kind is unpleasant and ill-paid while the second is pleasant and highly paid. Having recently left a Fortune 100 corporation to scratch a startup itch, I’m tempted to disagree with Mr. Russell’s assessment.
I’ve been at the new job for a month now. I thought I’d miss my comfortable corner office. I thought I’d miss having various types of coordinators and dedicated personnel taking care of everything from documents to venue booking to travel itinerary, so that I could focus on my core responsibilities. I thought I’d miss the ability to delegate almost anything. Frankly, I thought I’d miss the power and prestige.
I still haven’t.
There’s something energizing about knowing that you spend much of your day getting things done, versus “orchestrating and coordinating”. There is a sense of purpose and progress. When you’re doing part of the work yourself, you feel physically connected to it.
