Our culture tricks us into believing that it is healthier and more prosperous to like the big picture and to have the broad vision. But who are we to judge what is best? Different people have different cathedrals – and that is OK.
Recollecting a story from my memory…
Looking at three stonecutters who were working in the dust a man walked over to the first one and asked what he was doing. Surprised by this question, the stonecutter looked up and promptly replied:
“Can’t you see? I’m cutting this stone so it gets in a square shape. I am a stonecutter; what else would you expect me to do?” End of conversation.
The man went over to the second stonecutter and he asked the same question: “What are you doing?”
“Well“, the second stonecutter answered, “You see that wall over there? I am cutting this stone so it will fit right there into the third row. Every stone is different and my craftsmanship is needed to build straight walls.”
He continued:
“You know, I am a stonecutter. We make sure walls don’t fall over”
When the man approached the third stonecutter and asked the same question “What are you doing?”, the stonecutter replied with the same astonishment as the first one. He said:
“Can’t you see? I am building a cathedral!”
This is the story as far as I remember it from the management course I followed more than ten years ago. The moral of the story is that your view on things is the key to motivate your actions. All three of them are stonecutters. All three of them are cutting stones for the same cathedral. Yet, the line they draw from what they are doing to why they are doing it is different.
By now you must be convinced that the third stonecutter is the best and bla bla bla. Happy cows give better milk, etc… But what if…?
- What if the first guy is just good at stonecutting, and he enjoys cutting stones according to specifications?
- What if the second guy is obsessed by straight walls and keeps on delaying his deliverables until the stone is 200% balanced and fitting the hole?
- What if the third guy is so committed that he works and works and works without boundaries until he burns out?
Just asking, because we are constantly being told these kind of stories in order to reinforce the same morals. Here’s the real question: When I am building a cathedral, should I spend my time convincing each stonecutter about the dreams, aspirations and visions?
Or am I – pretty please, with lots of sugar on it – allowed to secure the delivery and just talk to the guy, connect with him and make clear arrangements about the stones? We may just have different cathedrals in our lives and as long as I am OK and he is OK, there is no need for me to rescue or persecute him for a lack of sense of my cathedral.
