Yesterday, I discussed three types of people at work.
Today I look at two variations of the third type: The Goose and The Golden Egg
The Golden Egg had a great idea. He monetized, marketed, sold, and distributed this idea. He was in high demand because of his idea and was able to land a couple of big positions based on the demand his idea generated.
Then the market changed and The Golden Egg was cooked and scrambled. It was used up. It was, after all, a finite resource. Most ideas are.
The Goose, on the other hand, will come up with Golden Egg after Golden Egg. The Goose will work her tail off to produce each one, knowing there are others to come. Some eggs she gives away. Some she sells. Some are proprietary (for a while, at least). She isn’t concerned with gaining the approval of her boss or with someone stealing her work to repurpose it in a different way. That’s not the point. She knows what she is good at and does it with excellence. Better than anyone else, in fact. She is consistent. You know that another Golden Egg is on its way.
The question facing us hinges on our response to these two choices. Do we take our one Golden Egg and run? Or do we realize that it represents only a single accomplishment? Will our best days stay behind us? Or do we have more to look forward to?
These ideas don’t generate themselves. It’s time to get to work.
