Sometimes, after a day’s work, I feel like stroking a stone and having a conversation with it. Not because I expect an answer, but because a stone has no deadline, no question, no amendment to an agreement, nor the need to explain to you at the last minute that it actually meant something entirely different.
A few evenings ago, I wrapped up one of those days that don’t seem particularly dangerous in the morning. It all started quite normally, but then an agreement changed, something that was supposed to be finished wasn’t, something that had been finished no longer suited the person who had asked for it, and the phone rang often enough that no conversation had time to wrap up in my head before the next one began.
When the company is yours, unresolved issues have a strange way of finding their way back to you. That does not justify working to exhaustion. If everything constantly depends on the owner, something in the organization probably needs to change.
That evening I set my phone face down on the table. I didn’t turn it off. I wasn’t quite that optimistic.
Next to it lay a small stone. I don’t even know how it got there. I picked it up and just sat there for a few moments. After a whole day of talking, it felt good to hold something that had no opinion on what I should do.
And maybe it was only then that I realized what had worn me out that day wasn’t the work itself. What wore me out was that almost every person I spoke with expected some kind of answer, decision, confirmation, or solution from me.
The stone was quiet, steady, and asked for nothing.
That evening, at least, it was a serious contender for “Employee of the Month.”
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