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185 quotes, page 4 of 7Pride in the job
For anybody who does it properly when nobody is watching: the tidy load, the clean weld, the bed made right. Craft is a habit, not a job title.
We say who really said each one, and where the credit is uncertain we tell you. Every card is ours to share.
“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it.”
Lord Kelvin, lecture on Electrical Units of Measurement (1883)
Count it: picks per hour, temperatures logged, miles driven. Numbers show where to improve.
“Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the earth.”
Archimedes, as reported by Pappus of Alexandria. Said of the lever.
The right tool and a firm footing let one person shift a huge load. Use the kit, save your back.
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
Stephen McCranie, comic artist, as widely quoted
Your supervisor has made every mistake you are worried about. Ask them how they learned.
“Amateurs practise until they get it right; professionals practise until they can't get it wrong.”
Saying of unknown origin
Run the fire drill until it is automatic. On the day, you will not have to think.
“Clean as you go.”
Kitchen saying
A tidy station all shift means no mountain to face at close.
“Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience.”
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, as quoted by Herault de Sechelles (1785)
Patience with a fiddly task is a talent. Take your time to get it right.
“Cuisine is when things taste of what they are.”
Attributed to Curnonsky, French food writer. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
Good ingredients handled with care need few tricks. The same goes for honest work.
“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.”
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste (1825)
Cooks and kitchen porters make people's days better. That is worth being proud of.
“A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.”
Thomas Keller, chef, as widely quoted
The procedure tells you what to do. You bring the care that makes it work.
“Hands to work, hearts to God.”
Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, as remembered by her followers
Busy hands and a settled mind make for good work and a good day.
“Don't make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful.”
Shaker saying
Do what is needed, then take a moment to finish it nicely. Presentation counts.
“Do your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as if you were to die tomorrow.”
Attributed to Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
Build it to last and do it now. Care and urgency can go together.
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.”
Elbert Hubbard, as widely quoted
Machines scan and sort, but people notice the damaged box and the worried customer.
“We haven't got the money, so we've got to think.”
Attributed to Ernest Rutherford. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
Small budget? Think harder, not cheaper. The best fixes are often free.
“Don't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar.”
English proverb. A ha'porth is a halfpenny's worth. The saying began with sheep, whose sores were treated with tar.
Do not skip the last coat of paint or the final check to save a few minutes.
“Fools and bairns should never see half-done work.”
Scottish proverb. Bairns are children.
Judge the job when it is finished. A building site always looks a mess halfway.
“Cut your coat according to your cloth.”
English proverb
Plan the job around the time and kit you really have, not what you wish you had.
“A trade has a golden floor.”
German proverb (Handwerk hat goldenen Boden)
A skilled trade gives you something solid to stand on whatever the economy does.
“It is by forging that one becomes a blacksmith.”
French proverb (C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron)
You learn the job by doing the job. Say yes to the shifts that stretch you.
“By making, one becomes a maker.”
Latin proverb (Fabricando fit faber)
Each thing you make teaches you how to make the next one better.
“Repetition teaches the donkey.”
Arabic proverb
Going over it again is not stupid. It is how everyone, clever or not, learns.
“Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice.”
Chinese proverb (Qiao fu nan wei wu mi zhi chui)
Skill needs materials. Order your stock before you run out, not after.
“The score takes care of itself.”
Bill Walsh, American football coach, the title of his book (2009)
Get the basics right every time and the results follow. Focus on the work, not the numbers.
“Every day you don't practice is one day further from being good.”
Attributed to Ben Hogan, golfer. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
Skills fade quietly. A little practice keeps them sharp between jobs.
“Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire.”
Martha Graham, An Athlete of God (1953)
Practice is not a chore. It is doing what you believe in again and again until it sticks.
“Because I think I am making progress.”
Attributed to Pablo Casals, cellist, asked in his nineties why he still practised daily. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
There is always another level, however long you have done the job.
“If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.”
Attributed to Ignacy Jan Paderewski, pianist. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
Standards slip slowly, then everyone sees. Keep your daily habits up.
“The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self of the chains that shackle the spirit.”
Igor Stravinsky, Poetics of Music (1942)
Tight deadlines and fixed menus can sharpen you. Limits make you creative.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
Attributed to Edgar Degas. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
A good presentation, a clean shop window, a well set table: craft is what others see of you.
“People err who think my art comes easily to me.”
Attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Widely attributed; the original source has not been traced.
Natural talent is mostly hidden hours. Do not compare your start to someone else's middle.
Other sections
- Work and keeping going (559)
- Stoic calm (316)
- An open mind (366)
- Starting a business (299)
- For leaders (218)
- Working with people (214)
- Mindset and habits (339)
- Safety and health (219)
- Starting again (210)
- Pride in the job (185)
- True stories of people who started small